THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 


THOMAS   MILLER, 

AUTHOR  OF  "  THE  CHILD'S  COUNTRY  BOOK." 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YOEK: 
JAMES  MILLER,  PUBLISHER. 

779    BROADWAY. 
1880. 


TZ7 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  L  PAM 

LTTTLB  BLUE  HOOD  ...................................................    5 

CHAPTER  H 
THE  DOG  TROT  ..........  ......  .......  ,  ...................    1 

CHAPTER  m. 
THE  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD  ..............................................  11 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  OLD  KIDNAPPER  .................................................  14 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  LARGE  HOUSE  ...................................................  16 

CHAPTER  YL 
THE  OLD  WOMAN'S  HOME  .............................................  20 

CHAPTER  YTL 
THE  DISGUISE  .......................................................  25 


CHAPTER 
MAKING  PREPARATION  ................................................  30 

CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  FIRST  PERFORMANCE  .........          .........  .34 


622774 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  X.                                                 ,AOT 
MEETING  AND  PABTING 38 

CHAPTER  XI. 
DEAF  AND  DUMP 45 

CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  SILENT  JOUBNET , 49 

CHAPTER  XIIL 
THE  LOST  CLUE 56 

CHAPTER  XIY. 
THE  HOVEL , .- 60 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  COTTAGE 6f 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  STEEET-HAWKEBS 74 

CHAPTER  XVIL 
THE  LITTLE  COUBT . 80 

CHAPTER  XVIH. 
THE  EAST  WIND 85 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
HOME .91 


LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

was  quite  a  crowd  "before  the  rich  jeweller's 
JL  shop  in  Piccadilly,  and  not  more  than  two  or  three 
out  of  the  whole  assembly  rightly  knew  what  had  hap- 
pened. One  said  what  he  thought,  another  reported  what 
he  had  heard,  while  a  third  boldly  asserted  that  it  was 
a  robbery ;  as  a  proof  of  which  he  pointed  to  the  po- 
liceman stationed  beside  the  shop  door.  Some  looked 
at  the  empty  landau,  with  its  rich  lining  and  spirited 
horses,  on  which  the  coachman  kept  a  watchful  eye,  while 
the  two  footmen  stood  beside  the  carriage,  looking  y-ery 
frightened,  and  speaking  very  low.  At  length  a  super- 
intendent of  the  police  came  up  at  a  sharp  trot,  and  said 
to  the  footmen,  "  Where's  the  lady  ?"  The  answer  was, 
"  Inside  the  shop  ;"  into  which,  without  uttering  another 
word,  the  superintendent  entered.  While  he  was  inside 
the  shop,  the  measured  tramp  of  half-a-dozen  policemen 
came  sounding  along  the  pavement,  and  after  clearing 
the  crowd  from  the  window  and  the  carriage,  they  drew 
up,  as  if  awaiting  further  orders.  They  had  not  to  wait 
long  before  the  superintendent  came  hurrying  out  with 
a  memorandum-book  in  his  hand,  exclaiming,  "Quick! 
let  information  be  conveyed  to  all  the  stations.  A  child, 


6  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

about  six,  in  a  little  "blue  hood,  her  hair  in  ringlets,  of 
a  gold  color,  and  a  small  "black  and  white  dog,  are  missing. 
Tell  Sergeants  Moore,  Ratclifte,  and  Shaw,  to  get  on 
horseback,  and  convey  the  information  to  every  man  on 
the  beat  within  a  mile  round.  I  am  authorized  to  give 
fifty  pounds  for  the  recovery  of  the  little  girl.  Quick ! 
the  lady  left  her  in  the  carriage  with  her  dog  only  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  ago.  Let  the  cabs  and  omnibuses  be 
looked  after,  the  bridges  watched,  and  every  court  and 
alley  searched  about  the  neighborhood."  He  then  said 
to  the  coachman,  "  Remain  here  until  I  return.  I  am 
going  to  Scotland-yard  ;  when  I  come  back,  I  have  a  few 
questions  to  put  to  those  footmen.  Your  lady  is  too  ill 
to  return  home  at  present."  Saying  which,  he  set  oif  at 
a  brisk  trot,  leaving  only  two  policemen  before  the  shop. 

Soon  after  an  eminent  physician  came,  rattling  up  in  his 
carriage  to  attend  the  lady,  who  was  too  ill  to  be  removed. 
He  ordered  the  landau  to  return  home,  just  as  a  messenger 
arrived  from  Scotland-yard,  summoning  the  footmen  to 
appear  before  the  head  commissioner  of  the  police  force. 

The  footmen  "had  no  tale  to  tell ;"  one  of  them,  feeling 
very  thirsty,  had  hurried  off  to  get  a  glass  of  bitter  ale. 
He  might  be  gone  two  or  three  minutes,  perhaps  five  : 
when  he  caniQ  back  he  stood  talking  to  the  coachman, 
never  noticed  the  landau,  as  he  left  John  beside  it ; 
thought  all  was  right. 

John,  the  other  footman,  feeling  tired,  had  sat  down 
for  a  minute  or  so  on  the  landau  steps,  which  he  had  not 
put  up  after  the  lady  entered  the  shop.  Trot,  the  dog, 
stood  reared  up  inside  the  landau,  and  kept  tapping  him 
on  the  hat  with  his  forepaws,  causing  little  Blue  Hood  to 
laugh.  Saw  a  gentleman's  servant  he  knew,  went  to 


THE  DOG  TEOT.  7 

speak  to  Mm,  was  not  above  a  minute  or  so.  When  he 
came  back,  saw  the  landau  door  open,  and  felt  sure  the 
little  lady  had  got  out,  and  gone  into  the  shop  after  her 
mother.  She  had  done  so  once  before,  and  nothing  was 
said  about  it. 

And  that  was  all.  When  the  lady  came  out  of  the  shop, 
and  found  her  daughter  was  not»in  the  carriage,  and  the 
footman  told  her  she  had  gone  into  the  shop,  to  which 
the  affrighted  mother  hastened  back,  only  to  find  that  her 
golden-haired  darling  Little  Blue  Hood  was  lost :  it  was 
then  that  she  sunk  senseless  on  a  seat,  when  there  was 
soon  great  hurrying  to  and  fro,  and  messengers  sent  in 
every  direction  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  far- 
spreading  London. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE      DOG      TKOT. 

IT  was  only  a  few  months  before  that  the  dog  Trot  had 
found  a  home  with  his  pretty  mistress,  Little  Blue 
Hood ;  and  this  was  how  it  happened.  She  was  sitting 
in  the  carriage  waiting  for  her  mother,  when  she  heard 
a  dog  yelping  and  howling  loud  enough  to  be  heard  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  down  Oxford  street,  and  asking  the  foot- 
man what  was  the  matter  with  the  poor  dog,  was  an- 
swered that  "  he  had  only  been  run  over,"  and  when  he 
came  and  drew  himself  up,  under  the  carriage,  as  if  he 
knew  what  a  kind  heart  there  was  above  him,  Little  Blue 
Hood  pleaded  for  him  so  piteously,  that  the  servant  took 


8  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

him  very  cautiously  by  the  "back  of  the  neck,  and  lifted 
him  into  the  carriage.  When  her  mother  returned,  she 
found  Trot,  as  ugly  a  little  mongrel  as  ever  ranged  the 
streets,  coiled  up  in  Little  Blue  Hood' s  lap,  and  licking  her 
hand.  The  wheel  had  only  gone  over  his  poor  bit  of  a 
tail,  so  that  he  wasn't  so  very  much  injured;  and  never 
in  this  world  did  a  dog  display  more  affection  to  its  pre- 
server than  Trot  did  to  Little  Blue  Hood,  while  she  loved 
him  with  all  her  heart. 

Now,  Trot  had  several  times  jumped  out  of  the  carriage 
as  soon  as  the  door  was  opened,  as  if  he  wanted  to  stretch 
his  legs,  but  had  always  come  back  again  after  having  had 
a  bit  of  a  run  ;  for  he  quite  enjoyed  giving  the  footmen 
a  breathing,  and  seemed  to  know  that  they  would  soon  be 
after  him,  though  when  once  again  within  the  reach  of  Little 
Blue  Hood' s  voice,  he  needed  but  a  word  from  her,  and 
was  coiled  up  at  her  side  in  a  moment,  as  if  nothing  at  all 
had  happened.  But  for  his  ugly,  old-fashioned  head,  he 
would  appear  at  times  like  a  real  gentlemanly  dog,  as  if 
all  his  life  he  had  been  brought  up  to  take  his  airing  in  a 
carriage,  instead  of  hunting  up  and  down  all  kinds  of  low 
streets,  as  he  had  done  many  a  time,  after  a  bone  or  a  crust. 
But  though  he  so  often  stood  with  his  paws  resting  on  the 
carriage  door,  let  there  only  be  a  stoppage,  and  another 
dog  at  the  door  or  window  of  the  opposite  carriage, 
then  he  would  show  his  low  breeding,  by  beginning  to 
bark  and  growl,  and  displaying  all  his  sharp  white  teeth, 
and  it  was  only  by  pulling  him  down  and  shaking  her 
little  hand  at  him,  that  Little  Blue  Hood  was  able  to 
make  peace  ;  and  one  day  he  jumped  bang  into  an  open 
carriage  that  came  too  near  to  please  him,  and  began 
fighting  a  French  poodle,  and  there  was  a  pretty  to  do 


THE  DOG  TKOT.  0 

under  the  old  lady's  large  crinoline,  while  they  foughf, 
in  the  carriage.  Also,  when  they  got  out  for  a  walk  in 
the  park,  he  would  sit  down  and  scratch  himself  anywhere, 
or  Ibefore  anybody,  while  a  real  gentlemanly  dog  would 
have  carried  his  fleas  home  with  him  into  his  kennel, 
and  have  punished  them  there,  however  much  they 
might  have  worried  him,  rather  than  have  had  it  thought 
that  he  kept  such  low  company,  when  in  the  presence  of 
well-bred  dogs  and  fashionable  people.  Also,  if  he  saw 
any  low-bred  dog  he  would  run  up  to  it,  wag  his  tail, 
and  appear  delighted  to  meet  him,  seeming  to  say,  "Never 
mind,  old  fellow  !  I  was  once  as  poor  and  cast-down  as 
you  are,  but  you  may  yet  live  to  ride  in  a  carriage  some 
day,  as  I  do  ;  so  cheer  up.  I  wish  you  had  a  few  of  those 
bones  I  have  left  unpicked  at  home.  If  you  come  round 
our  way,  give  me  a  bark,  and  I'll  get  you  in  somehow 
and  give  you  a  meal;"  for  into  some  such  droll  Ian 
guage  as  that  would  Little  Blue  Hood  interpret  the  ex- 
pression of  Trot' s  looks  to  her  mother,  for  the  child' s  head 
was  filled  with  romantic  ideas  about  all  kinds  of  dumb 
animals.  Nothing  seemed  to  delight  Trot  more  than  hav- 
ing a  fight  in  the  park  with  some  proud,  stuck-up,  clean, 
gentlemanly  dog,  that  seemed  to  despise  the  very  ground 
he  trod  upon ;  to  fly  at  such  a  dog,  and  roll  him  in  the 
dust,  was  often  only  the  work  of  a  few  seconds,  when, 
if  attacked  or  pursued  by  the  servants,  ^vho  had  charge 
of  the  other  dog,  Trot  would  run  up  to  Little  Blue  Hood, 
and  in  her  dear  arms  find  safe  protection.  Nay,  so  polite 
were  some  of  the  ladies,  and  she  so  little  and  pretty,  that 
they  would  throw  all  the  blame  on  their  own  dogs, 
while  that  rascal,  Trot,  hid  his  ugly  head  under  the  long 
lappets  of  her  little  blue  hood,  and  fairly  grinned  again 


10  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

as  he  thought  how  well  he  had  got  out  of  another  row. 
But  one  day  "  he  caught  a  Tartar,"  got  his  ears  well  "bit, 
and  was  a  good  dog  for  a  week  or  two,  his  little  mis- 
tress nursing  him  until  he  got  well,  when  he  broke  out 
again  worse  than  ever  ;  so  that  at  last  she  was  compelled 
to  keep  him  within  "bounds  "by  a  long  blue  ribbon, 
which  she  fastened  round  his  neck,  and  held  fast  in  her 
hand  when  they  walked.  Now  and  then  he  made  a  tug, 
and  gave  a  spring;  but  a  jerk,  and  "Oh,  fie,  Trot!" 
brought  him  back  to  subjection. 

At  one  time  or  another  there  was  no  doubt  but  that 
Trot  had  formed  part  of  the  establishment  of  some  itin- 
erant show-man,  street-tumbler,  or  Punch-and-Judy-man, 
for  he  could  perform  all  such  tricks  as  are  generally  taught 
dogs  in  that  kind  of  profession.  He  could  walk  about 
on  his  hinder  legs,  upright  as  a  grenadier ;  stand  on  his 
forelegs  ;  tumble  ;  lie  down  and  pretend  to  be  dead  ; 
carry  a  stick  between  his  paws  ;  dance,  after  his  fashion  ; 
and  even  sing,  if  a  strain  of  low,  whining  barks  can  be 
called  by  such  a  name.  All  these  accomplishments  were 
discovered  by  Little  Blue  Hood  before  the  end  of  a  month, 
and  he  would  go  through  them  all  at  any  time  at  her  bid- 
ding. Never  had  such  laughter  rang  through  that  great 
grand  west-end  house,  as  was  raised  by  Little  Blue  Hood, 
and  her  dog,  Trot.  True  to  his  old  habits,  he  would  get 
into  the  kitchen  every  now  and  then,  where  the  cook 
seemed  almost  to  have  as  much  command  over  him  as 
his  little  mistress  ;  and  there  he  would  sit  up  and  beg, 
holding  some  delicate  morsel  on  his  black  nose,  until  some 
number,  told  to  him  beforehand,  was  counted,  when  he 
threw  it  off  and  caught  it  before  it  fell  on  the  floor. 
These  tricks  made  him  a  great  favorite  with  all  the  ser- 


THE  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD.  11 

vants,  and  if  he  didn't  get  fat,  it  was  not  through  a  want 
of  good  living.  Trot  displayed  snch  a  social  disposition 
when  at  home,  that  he  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  cat, 
and  they  would  lie  on  the  fleecy  rug  for  the  hour  to- 
gether ;  even  the  parrot  would  now  and  then  fraternize 
with  him,  though  there  was  always  something  of  a  ma- 
licious leer  in  Poll's  eye,  as  if  she  were  thinking  of  their 
first  fight,  when  he  laid  hold  of  her  by  the  tail,  and  left 
only  the  stump  "behind,  though  she  commenced  the  "battle 
by  biting  his  poor  ear. 

"  Ay,  we  shall  all  greatly  miss  the  dog,"  said  the  foot- 
man, as  they  talked  over  the  events  of  the  day  in  the 
kitchen  ; — a  few  hours  after  the  little  girl  was  lost. 

"  Not  so  much  as  my  Lady  will  our  dear  Little  Blue 
Hood,"  said  the  tender-hearted,  fat  cook,  bursting  into 
tears. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    LITTLE    BLUE    HOOD. 

HOW  Edith, — for  that  was  her  real  name, — came  to  be 
called  Little  Blue  Hood,  was  through  the  fancy  she 
took  to  a  silk  hood,  of  that  color,  her  dear  mother  had 
made  for  her,  just  after  she  was  strong  enough  to  run 
alone  about  the  large,  beautiful  garden.  It  was  a  hood 
and  cape,  all  in  one,  and  long  enough  to  keep  the  sun 
off  her  pretty  neck  and  shoulders,  having  a  ribbon  run 
into  a  hem,  which  sometimes  was  tied  under  her  dear  little 


12  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

dimpled  chin.  She  could  not  "bear  a  bonnet,  it  pricked 
her  tiny  pearl-like  ears  ;  as  for  a  hat,  she  was  always 
pulling  and  dragging  at  it,  and  twisting  it  into  all  manner 
of  shapes,  throwing  both  off  the  moment  she  was  out  of 
sight,  then  running  in-doors  to  ask  for  her  little  "blue 
hood.  She  took  it  off,  and  put  stones  in  it,  then  dragged 
it  up  and  down  the  broad  gravel  walk  for  a  cart :  she 
made  a  carriage  of  it,  and  put  her  little  white  kitten  in 
for  a  ride,  though  after  a  jolt  or  two  pussy  always  jumped 
out,  and  preferred  walking  on  the  grass  border  to  such 
a  rough  conveyance  ;  and  she  pulled  up  the  flowers  and 
presented  them  to  her  over-indulgent  mother  in  her  little 
blue  hood.  They  bought  her  the  costliest  dolls,  with 
eyes  and  hair  of  every  imaginable  color,  and  dressed  in 
the  very  height  of  fashion  ;  but  she  never  seemed  to  care 
for  them  after  the  first  few  days,  nor  ever  fell  asleep  so 
soon  as  when  she  took  into  bed  with  her,  for  a  doll,  her 
little  blue  hood.  Then,  when  she  wore  it,  it  was  large 
and  loose,  and  she  could  pop  her  pretty  head  in  and  out 
of  it  as  quickly  as  a  little  brown  mouse  can  peep  in  and 
out  of  its  hole.  From  under  her  hood,  her  sweet  face 
looked  out  like  a  beautiful  flower  from  its  calyx  ;  and 
her  gentle  eyes,  half  sly,  half  shy,  seemed  to  hide  them- 
selves beneath  it ;  while  it  threw  down  a  soft  half  shadow 
over  her  face,  mouth,  fair  forehead,  and  gave  a  darker 
tinge  to  the  upper  part  of  her  golden  hair ;  then  as  the 
inside  was  lined  with  a  warm,  rich  pink  silk,  the  color 
heightened  the  rosy  blush  of  her  healthy  face,  and  when 
she  sat  still  she  looked  like  a  beautiful  picture  set  in  the 
frame  of  her  little  blue  hood.  But  the  blue  hood  she 
wore  when  she  went  out  for  a  walk  or  a  ride  with  her 
.mother,  and  which  was  always  bordered  with  costly 


THE  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD.  13 

lace,  hanging  as  low  down  behind  as  a  little  cloak, 
she  never  cared  to  put  on  when  in  the  garden,  unless 
they  received  visitors  ;  for  it  was  always  one  of  her 
old  blue  hoods  that  she  wore  to  romp  and  play  in,  to  fold 
up  and  make  a  seat,  on  which  she  would  sit  and  sing  or 
repeat  the  pretty  childish  poems  her  mother  taught  her. 
Perhaps  it  was  wrong  in  her  fond  mother  to  indulge  her 
so  much,  and  give  way  to  her  childish  fancies,  but  then 
she  looked  so  pretty,  and  was  so  comfortable  and  happy 
in  her  little  blue  hood,  that  it  would  have  pained  her 
dear  heart  had  she  not  been  allowed  to  wear  it,  and  it  was 
a  very  harmless  whim  after  all.  Then  all  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  declared  that  nothing  became  her  so  well  as 
her  little  blue  hood,  and  they  were  right ;  and  a  celebrated 
painter,  who  wanted  a  model  for  his  picture  of  Titania 
and  her  fairies  drew  her  sweet  face  for  his  Fairy  Queen, 
seated  on  a  bed  of  flowers  and  peeping  from  out  her  little 
blue  hood.  And  so  she  was  known,  and  so  she  was  called 
by  all  the  friends  of  her  parents  Little  Blue  Hood  ;  nor 
did  the  servants  amongst  themselves,  or  when  she  herself 
was  only  present,  mention  her  by  any  other  name  than 
that  of  Little  Blue  Hood.  And  after  Trot  found  a  new 
home  with  her,  and  became  her  inseparable  companion, 
visitors  who  called  always  inquired  after  Little  Blue 
Hood  and  her  dog. 


14  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    OLD    KIDNAPPER. 

THE  father  of  Little  Blue  Hood  had  formerly  "been  an 
eminent  counsellor  with  so  large  a  practice  that  he 
could  not  at  last  accept  half  the  "briefs  that  were  offered 
him.  At  the  time  his  little  daughter  was  missing,  he  held 
a  very  high  legal  office  under  the  crown,  and  just  "before 
his  marriage  was  knighted.  During  his  practice  at  the  bar, 
he  held  a  "brief  for  an  old  woman  ;  "but  his  client  had 
sworn  to  so  many  falsehoods  in  her  attempt  to  recover 
a  property  to  which  she  had  not  even  a  shadow  of  a 
claim,  that  he  threw  up  his  brief  in  disgust  the  moment 
he  heard  the  opposite  counsel' s  defence.  From  that  hour 
the  woman  hated  him,  said  that  he  had  sold  her  cause  and 
ruined  her,  and  that  she  would  have  her  revenge  on  him 
somehow,  if  even  she  had  to  wait  for  years.  This  bad 
woman  had  gone  to  his  chambers  several  times,  and  made 
so  great  a  disturbance,  saying  that  she  knew  he  was  in 
when  he  was  on  circuit,  that  at  last  one  of  the  clerks  gave 
her  in  charge  of  the  police,  and  she  was  sent  to  prison. 
The  counsellor,  on  hearing  of  this,  expressed  his  regret 
at  what  had  happened  ;  and  said  an  asylum  would  have 
been  a  more  fitting  place  for  the  woman,  as  he  did  not 
believe  she  was  at  all  right  in  her  mind.  In  prison  she 
nursed  the  thoughts  of  her  revenge,  was  sullen  and  silent, 
and  refused  to  see  the  chaplain,  and  when  she  came  out 
was  lost  sight  of.  The  charitable  counsellor  inquired  after 
her  in  vain,  for  he  was  anxious  to  render  her  some  little 
assistance. 


THE  OLD  KIDNAPPER.  15 

Years  passed  away,  and  that  bad-hearted  woman  grew 
older  and  worse,  never  losing  sight  all  the  time  of  the 
gentleman,  who  she  said  had  ruined  and  imprisoned  her. 
She  saw  him  rise  to  his  high  position,  heard  the  name  of 
the  titled  and  beautiful  lady  he  had  married,  went  to  look 
at  the  large  grand  mansion  in  which  they  lived,  and  utter- 
ing some  terrible  threat,  as  she  saw  their  carriage  drive  up 
to  the  door,  shook  her  withered  old  fist  at  it.  The  counsel- 
lor would  not  have  known  her  then,  had  she  come  close  up 
and  spoken  to  him,  so  much  had  she  altered  for  the  worse. 
Some  find  pleasure  in  doing  good  ;  others  a  wicked  delight 
in  doing  evil.  Some  are  naturally  kind  ;  others  naturally 
cruel.  The  father  of  Little  Blue  Hood  was  always  study- 
ing to  do  good.  That  bad  old  woman's  mind  was  ever 
filled  with  the  thought  of  doing  evil.  There  was  no  doubt 
a  touch  of  craziness  about  the  old  woman;  but  she  still 
retained  the  same  roguish  cunning  which  long  years  before 
had  so  far  blinded  a  clever  solicitor,  as  to  induce  him,  at  a 
great  loss,  to  undertake  the  recovery  of  the  property 
already  alluded  to.  She  had  many  a  time  seen  Little 
Blue  Hood  with  her  parents,  had  followed  the  carriage 
through  many  a  square  and  street,  and  hung  about  the 
house  in  which  she  lived,  both  by  day  and  by  night,  for 
many  a  long  hour  together,  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  chance 
of  stealing  her.  She  carried  a  folded  bonnet  and  an  old 
cloak  to  disguise  the  child  the  moment  she  saw  a  chance  of 
seizing  her,  and  thought  how  if  she  once  got  them  on, 
she  might  cry  and  scream  as  loud  as  she  liked,  for  she 
had  excuses  enough  in  her  wicked  old  head  to  answer 
any  questioner  they  might  chance  to  meet. 

The  time  came  at  last.     Little  Blue  Hood  pushed  open 
the  door  of  the  carriage,  and  out  Trot  jumped ;  seeing  the 


16  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

steps  down,  she  descended,  and  ran  after  her  dog.  Trot 
made  his  way  np  in  an  inn  yard,  under  the  archway  of 
which  the  wicked  old  woman  was  watching.  There  was 
no  one  about  the  yard  ;  the  cloak  and  bonnet  were  thrown 
over  the  child  in  an  instant,  though  not  before  the  dog  had 
bitten  her  hands.  The  old  woman  made  a  stab  at  Trot 
with  a  long  pair  of  sharp  scissors  she  carried  in  her  huge 
pocket,  but  missed  him.  "  Oh,  do  not  hurt  my  poor  dog," 
said  the  little  girl,  "  and  I  will  not  cry  nor  make  a  noise." 

"  Take  him  up  in  your  arms  then,"  said  the  savage  old 
woman,  "  and  come  along  with  me  ;  and  if  you  look  at, 
or  speak  to  any  one,  or  make  the  least  noise,  I  will  kill 
your  dog." 

And  so  Little  Blue  Hood  was  led  along,  stifling  her 
sobs  for  the  sake  of  her  dog,  which  she  carried  under  the 
old  ragged  cloak,  while  the  wicked  old  woman  gripped 
her  tightly  by  the  wrist. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE    LAKGE    HOUSE. 

WHAT  a  change  had  taken  place  in  a  few  days  in  the 
home  of  Little  Blue  Hood !  The  blinds  were  drawn 
down,  the  great  knocker  was  muffled,  and  cartloads  of  tan 
laid  down  on  that  side  of  the  grand  square  to  deaden  the 
sound  of  passing  vehicles.  Those  who  came  and  went( 
on  necessary  errands  to  the  silent  house,  moved  with 
noiseless  steps  and  spoke  very  low,  for  the  lady  inside  was 
ill,  well-nigh  unto  death,  and  from  no  quarter  had  any 


THE  LAEGE  HOUSE.  17 

tidings  come  to  console  her,  as  nothing  had  either  "been 
seen  nor  heard  of  Little  Blue  Hood  or  her  dog. 

Scores  of  pounds  had  been  spent  in  advertisements,  and 
thousands  upon  thousands  of  hand-bills  circulated,  offer- 
ing as  much  as  live  hundred  pounds  for  the  recovery  of 
the  child,  and  a  large  reward  for  even  any  tidings  of  her, 
but  no  true  tidings  came,  although  there  were  many  at- 
tempts to  obtain  the  reward  ;  but  the  father  of  Little  Blue 
Hood  was  too  shrewd  a  lawyer  to  be  easily  imposed  upon, 
and  had  a  way  of  his  own  of  getting  at  the  truth,  by  ask- 
ing a  few  plain  questions.  He  felt  the  loss  of  his  darling 
daughter  as  much  as  his  lady  did,  but  as  he  said,  "It  will 
not  do  for  me  to  give  way  too  much,  for  inquiries  must  be 
made  and  not  a  stone  left  unturned ;  and  these  things  will 
never  be  done  properly  if  I  give  up,  and  only  sit  brood- 
ing and  mourning  over  the  loss  of  our  little  angel." 

Several  little  girls  had  been  found  with  light  hair,  and 
brought  to  the  large  house  under  pretence  that  they 
were  lost,  and  with  a  hope  on  the  part  of  those  who 
brought  them  that  they  would  at  least  receive  some  little 
reward  ;  but  as  these  made  their  entrance  and  exits  down 
and  up  the  steps  of  the  area,  they  caused  no  disturbance 
in  any  other  part  of  the  mansion.  Amongst  these  were 
one  or  two  dear  little  motherless  girls,  who  looked  as  if 
they  came  from  very  poor  homes ;  while  the  women 
who  brought  them  seemed  rather  anxious  about  being  re- 
warded for  the  trouble,  as  they  called  it,  though  a  hearty 
meal,  and  a  few  shillings  distributed  by  the  footman, 
sent  them  away  satisfied.  Yet  they  no  more  resembled 
Little  Blue  Hood  than  a  lighted  rushlight  resembles  the 
evening  star.  There  was  hardly  a  little  girl  lost  for  ten 
miles  round  London,  but  what  was  picked  up  and  brought 
2 


18  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

to  the  large  house  in  the  square.  "Oh!  bother  'em," 
said  the  cook ;  "  to  think  of  that  low  washerwoman  bring- 
ing that  dirty  little  girl,  that  looked  as  if  its  face  had  not 
been  washed  nor  its  hair  combed  for  a  week  or  more, 
and  wanting  to  persuade  us  that  it  was  our  dear  Little 
Blue  Hood,  and  that  we  should  see  the  likeness  in  a 
minute,  if  we  only  washed  her  and  put  on  nice  clean 
clothes.  A  woman  the  other  day  brought  a  little  girl  with 
hardly  a  rag  to  her  back;  but  bless  her  little  heart, 
it  wasn't  the  child's  fault;  and  I  did  give  her  some  of 
Little  Blue  Hood's  old  frocks  and  things  that  had  been 
laid  aside  for  dusters." 

Many  who  went  by  turned  to  look  at  the  large  house  or 
pointed  towards  it,  while  they  spoke  in  whispers,  men- 
tioning the  many  thousands  that  Little  Blue  Hood  would 
have  inherited  some  day,  and  wondering  whom  it  would 
go  to  if  she  never  returned,  for  her  father  had  married 
one  of  the  wealthiest  heiresses  in  England. 

And  now  that  beautiful  lady,  hot  with  fever,  and  writh- 
ing under  an  aching  heart,  was  laid  on  her  restless  bed, 
finding  no  sleep  but  what  was  produced  by  taking  strong 
opiates — a  sleep  which  brings  no  rest — and  in  which  she 
fancied  at  times  that  she  was  with  her  golden-haired  dar- 
ling, and  that  they  were  toiling  along  together,  hand  in 
hand,  over  dreary  and  dusty  roads  to  which  there  seemed 
to  be  no  end.  And  sometimes  in  this  feverish  sleep  they 
seemed  to  be  separated  by  a  deep  dark  river,  on  the  banks 
of  which  they  stood  in  a  dim  kind  of  twilight,  beckoning 
one  another  to  cross ;  and  then  hideous  faces  appeared  to 
rise  above  the  water,  and  she  would  awake  frightened,  and 
begin  feeling  about  with  her  hands,  as  if  for  something 
she  had  lost. 


THE  LAEGE  HOUSE.  19 

The  portrait  of  Little  Blue  Hood  was  now  brought  into 
her  chamber,  and  so  placed  that  she  could  see  it,  when  she 
turned  on  her  side  in  bed ;  and  when  free  from  pain,  she 
would  lie  and  look  at  it  for  the  hour  together,  until  the 
smile  on  that  pretty  face  seemed  to  brighten,  and  the  light 
in  those  dear  eyes  became  so  fixed  and  intense,  and  full  of 
hope,  that  the  portrait  almost  seemed  to  speak  to  her,  bid- 
ding her  not  give  herself  wholly  up  to  despair,  for  they 
would  live  to  meet  again,  and  be  clasped  in  one  another' s 
arms.  And  now  and  then,  after  such  a  revery,  she  would 
doze  away  a  few  minutes  tranquilly,  and  instead  of  stum- 
bling along  dark,  wild,  troubled  ways  with  her  child, 
fancy  they  were  sitting  together  among  flowers  in  the 
sunshine,  listening  to  the  murmuring  of  pleasant  streams, 
and  the  singing  of  sweet  birds,  and  when  she  awoke  she 
would  weep  to  find  it  was  only  a  dream. 

That  large  house,  so  filled  with  joyous  noise  when  Trot 
and  his  little  mistress  came  bounding  in  out  of  the 
garden,  the  one  barking  and  the  other  shouting,  singing, 
or  laughing,  while  the  deep  well-staircase  echoed  back  the 
sound,  and  the  parrot  screamed  to  join  them,  and  the 
pretty  canaries  began  singing  in  their  cages ;  that  large 
house  had  now  lost  its  cheerful  voice,  and  the  only  sounds 
heard  in  the  upper  rooms  were  low  whispers. 

The  servants  moved  about  almost  as  noiselessly  as  if 
they  walked  with  feathered  feet,  and  not  a  door  creaked 
on  its  hinges,  when  either  opened  or  shut. 

There  were  policemen  outside,  and  no  cry  of  busy  trade 
was  permitted  to  break  the  silence  of  that  large  square, 
every  resident  of  which  respected  the  gentle  lady,  and  had 
at  one  time  or  another,  exchanged  a  kind  greeting  with  Lit- 
tle Blue  Hood  and  her  dog  inside  the  green  inclosure.  Even 


20  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

the  poor  gardener,  wh.0  attended  to  the  shrubs  and  flowers 
in  the  square,  came  morning  after  morning  to  the  area 
steps,  to  inquire  if  any  thing  had  been  heard  of  Little 
Blue  Hood.  "  Bless  her  heart  alive,"  said  one  of  the  gar- 
deners, an  old,  gray-headed  man,  "  it  used  to  cheer  me  up 
as  much  as  a  pint  of  beer  does,  when  I  am  very  tired,  and 
very  thirsty,  to  hear  her  pretty  tongue  rattle  along,  saying 
such  droll  things  at  times,  and  making  her  dog  do  such 
pretty  tricks,  that  I  fairly  laughed  again.  How  we  all 
do  miss  her,  surely.  I  wish  she  had  only  been  left  to  run 
about  your  own  garden,  or  trusted  to  our  care  in  the 
square,  she  would  have  never  been  lost — never  been  lost. 
But  God  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn  lamb. ' '  And  many 
another  as  humble  as  the  poor  old  gardener,  came  to  the 
large  house  daily  to  inquire  after  Little  .Blue  Hood  and  her 
dog. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  OLD  WOMAN'S  HOME. 

WITH  the  large  old  napping  bonnet  hiding  nearly  the 
whole  of  her  dear  sorrowful  face,  and  the  long 
shabby  cloak  concealing  her  dress,  Little  Blue  Hood  was 
dragged  along  by  the  old  woman  over  Westminster  Bridge, 
and  into  the  New  Cut,  long  before  any  information  of  her 
loss  had  reached  the  police  stations  in  that  locality. 
Though  her  little  arms  ached,  and  she  was  compelled  to 
put  Trot  down,  the  faithful  dog  stuck  to  her  as  close  as 


THE  OLD  WOMAN'S  HOME.  21 

her  own  shadow.  Scarcely  a  head  was  turned  to  look 
at  the  old  woman  or  child,  as  they  passed  along  this 
poor  neighborhood,  and  made  their  way  into  one  of  the 
"back  streets  ;  so  much  were  they  dressed  like  other 
women  and  children,  with  which  the  narrow  pavements 
swarmed. 

They  could  hardly  get  along,  so  much  was  their  path 
encumbered  by  the  vendors  of  fried  fish,  whelks,  baked 
potatoes,  and  vegetables — the  refuse  of  which  littered 
every  few  yards  they  traversed,  while  bundles  of  wood 
and  lumps  of  coal  projected  from  the  entrance  of  open 
sheds,  and  compelled  them  every  now  and  then  to  turn 
out  of  the  footway. 

They  passed  along  streets  where  half  the  tumble-down 
houses  were  empty,  and  those  that  were  inhabited  had 
never  been  painted  for  years,  the  wood-work  looking 
like  gray,  dry  bones  round  the  window-panes. 

And  in  these  poor  streets  lived  sweeps  and  night-men — 
men  who  spent  their  days  underground  flushing  the  sew- 
ers, coster-mongers  and  their  donkeys,  with  their  wives 
and  children — all  under  the  same  roof;  and  others  who 
got  their  living  by  disreputable  means,  when  they  were 
out  of  prison.  Those  who  lived  in  the  same  house  often 
knew  nothing  of  one  another,  as  each  family  or  individual, 
renting  a  separate  room,  had  their  own  keys,  paid  their 
rent  to  the  collector,  who  came  round  once  a  week,  and 
required  only  a  week's  notice  if  they  wanted  to  leave. 
The  tenant  of  one  room  did  not  know  how  the  occupier 
of  the  next  got  a  living  ;  and  very  often  they  did  not  even 
know  one  another' s  names. 

Some  went  out  early  of  a  morning,  and  returned  late  at 
night,  and  it  was  the  business  of  no  one  to  inquire  whither 


22  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

they  went,  nor  whence  they  came.  JN~ow  and  then,  if  a 
glimmer  was  seen  through  some  chink  at  night,  and  some 
one  came  in,  in  the  dark,  and  could  not  find  a  match, 
a  light  might  be  asked  for,  which  was  often  only  given 
"by  a  hand  through  a  narrow  opening  of  the  door,  and 
saving  when  they  went  to  the  water-butt  at  the  back, 
or  to  hang  a  few  rags  in  the  yard,  that  was  all  they  saw 
of  one  another,  sometimes  for  weeks  together. 

As  for  the  old  woman,  she  spoke  to  no  one,  nor  made 
neighbors  of  anybody.  Once  she  was  ill,  and  a  little  girl 
came  to  attend  on  her ;  but  she  received  orders  to  speak 
to  no  one,  and  obeyed.  She  was  the  daughter  of  an  old 
servant,  who  had  lived  with  the  old  woman  in  her  pros- 
perous days. 

Even  now  she  was  not  without  money,  though  the  sum 
was  small,  and  when  that  was  gone  she  knew  not  where 
she  could  obtain  another  shilling.  There  was  only  another 
tenant  in  the  four-roomed  house  in  which  she  occupied 
an  apartment,  and  he  was  employed  on  the  roads,  and, 
excepting  on  a  Sunday,  never  hardly  came  home  in  the 
day-tune,  so  that  half  the  house  was  empty,  like  many 
others  in  that  poor  neighborhood. 

If  any  one  did  turn  to  notice  the  old  woman  and  child 
enter  the  house,  they  took  Little  Blue  Hood  for  the  child 
who  had  been  with  her  while  she  was  ill,  who  was  very 
little  of  her  age,  though  nearly  three  years  older  than 
pretty  Edith. 

Trot  made  himself  at  home  at  once,  by  coiling  himself 
up  on  the  little  morsel  of  carpet  that  covered  the  hearth ; 
while  Little  Blue  Hood  seated  herself  on  a  hassock,  which 
the  old  woman  dusted  before  she  let  the  child  sit  on  it,  for 
every  thing  in  her  room  was  clean. 


THE  OLD  WOMAN'S  HOME.  23 

The  child  watched  her,  as  she  took  a  bundle  of  wood 
out  of  a  cupboard  in  which  she  also  kept  her  coals,  and 
lighting  her  fire,  placed  the  kettle  on  it.  Nor  was  it  until 
the  fire  had  burned  up  and  warmed  the  apartment,  that  she 
took  off  the  old  cloak  and  bonnet,  then  taking  a  little 
dark  frock  and  other  things  out  of  a  drawer,  she  aired 
them  well  before  the  fire,  and  said,  "  You  must  wear 
these  now.  I  have  kept  them  a  long  time  for  you." 
And  she  took  off  her  little  blue  hood  and  frock,  and 
dressed  her  like  a  poor  person' s  child,  Trot  looking  on  all 
the  time,  but  neither  barking  nor  growling,  for  the  tears 
his  little  mistress  shed,  fell  in  silence,  and  when  she  was 
dressed  he  jumped  up  and  sat  on  her  lap. 

Her  heart  was  too  full,  and  she  had  no  appetite  to  par- 
take of  the  tea  the  old  woman  made ;  but  Trot  began  to 
beg  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  bread  and  butter ;  but  she 
shook  her  head,  and  said  "!N"o;"  then  pointed  to  her 
hand  where  he  had  bit  her. 

"He  will  never  do  so  again,"  said  Little  Blue  Hood. 
"  Let  him  have  my  tea,  he's  hungry." 

Without  replying,  the  old  woman  handed  her  the  plate 
of  bread  and  butter  ;  and  after  he  was  satisfied,  and  had 
lapped  some  milk  and  water,  he  began  to  tumble  and 
dance  on  his  hind  legs,  as  if  to  cheer  up  his  pretty  mis- 
tress. 

The  eyes  of  the  old  woman  lighted  up  as  she  sipped 
her  tea,  and  watched  the  child  and  dog,  for  the  though* 
entered  her  head  in  a  moment,  that,  after  a  little  practice, 
money  might  be  obtained  through  their  performance ; 
and  she  muttered  to  herself,  "Her  father  was  the  cause  of 
my  ruin,  and  I  will  make  her  and  the  dog  support  me ; 
that  shall  be  my  revenge." 


24  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

The  day  wore  on ;  the  evening  began  to  close  in  ;  there 
was  no  pleasant  square  to  look  over  and  watch  the  sun- 
set, no  long  garden  to  give  her  dog  a  run  in  "before  she 
went  to  "bed,  for  the  blind  was  drawn  down,  and  she  only 
saw  the  day  darken  by  watching  the  deepening  shadows 
on  the  walls,  until  at  last  she  fell  asleep  with  the  dog  in 
her  arms. 

At  length,  the  old  woman  undressed  her,  put  her  on  a 
clean  little  night-gown  and  cap,  and  drew  down  the  bed- 
clothes. Little  Blue  Hood  stood  still  for  a  moment,  with 
her  bare  feet  on  the  floor,  and  said,  "Please,  I  haven't 
said  my  prayers." 

"  Then  say  them  to  yourself,"  replied  the  old  woman, 
sharply.  ' '  I  never  say  mine. ' ' 

So  Little  Blue  Hood  knelt  on  the  narrow  strip  of  carpet 
beside  the  bed,  and  with  clasped  hands,  whispered  her 
prayers  ;  while  Trot  sat  close  beside  her,  never  once  mov- 
ing until  she  arose,  when  the  old  woman  had  no  sooner 
drawn  the  clothes  over  her  than  he  jumped  upon  the  bed, 
and  coiled  himself  up  between  the  wall  and  his  little  mis- 
tress. 

"I  shall  not  have  the  dog  on  my  bed,"  said  the  old 
woman,  angrily ;  "he  must  sleep  on  the  floor." 

"He  will  be  as  still  as  a  mouse,"  said  Little  Blue 
Hood,  "  and  never  stir  all  night  if  I  have  my  arm  round 
him ;"  and  she  kissed  the  dog  as  she  folded  her  arm 
round  him,  and  felt  that  she  was  not  yet  wholly  friend- 
less. 

The  old  woman  attempted  to  drive  him  oif  the  bed,  but 
saw  that  he  would  fly  at  her  if  she  persisted,  so  sat  down 
and  left  him  undisturbed. 

So  Little  Blue  Hood  lay,  her  cheeks  wet  with  tears,  re- 


THE  DISGUISE.  25 

peating  the  prayers  to  herself,  with  Trot  folded  in  her 
arms,  until  sleep  sealed  up  her  gentle  eyes ;  and  she 
dreamed  that  she  was  hanging  around  her  mother' s  neck, 
and  fancied  in  her  sleep  that  she  was  singing  to  her. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    DISGUISE. 

old  woman  folded  up  neatly  the  whole  of  the 
_  clothes  the  child  wore  when  she  stole  her,  and  placed 
them  carefully  in  a  drawer,  pinning  up  separately  the 
little  blue  hood  in  a  clean  paper.  Those  she  was  to  wear 
on  the  morrow  she  also  folded  as  neatly,  and  placed  on  a 
chair,  then  sat  down  with  her  elbows  resting  on  her 
knees,  and  her  hands  supporting  her  chin,  and  gazed 
motionless  into  the  fire.  There  the  old  woman  sat  brood- 
ing to  herself,  and  revolving  in  her  mind  what  she  should 
do  to  prevent  the  discovery  of  the  child,  well  knowing 
that  a  great  reward  would  be  offered,  and  that  hundreds 
of  people  would  be  out  on  the  search  for  her  in  every 
direction. 

"I  will  dye  her  hair  black,"  said  the  old  woman,  to  her- 
self, "and  stain  her  neck,  face,  and  hands  with  the  juice 
of  walnuts,  until  she  is  as  brown  as  a  gypsy  child,  and  her 
own  mother  would  not  be  able  to  recognize  her,  unless  she 
was  very  near,  and  heard  her  voice.  She  shall  hold  the 
dog,  and  every  white  patch  about  him  I  will  also  dye ; 
then  they  may  offer  their  rewards  for  their  fine  child 


26  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

with  golden  hair,  and  a  black  and  white  dog,  and  I  will 
read  the  bills  while  they  are  standing  beside  me." 

Then  she  rubbed  her  skinny  hands  together  over  the 
fire,  as  if  delighted  at  the  wickedness  she  had  plotted, 
feeling  satisfied  that  it  would  almost  be  impossible  to  de- 
tect Little  Blue  Hood  and  her  dog  under  such  a  disguise. 

In  the  morning,  the  old  woman  went  out  noiselessly 
and  purchased  the  necessary  ingredients,  and  returned 
by  the  time  the  child  awoke,  bringing  with  her  some 
meat  for  the  dog,  which  Trot  devoured  with  great  relish, 
then  wagged  his  tail  for  more.  Little  Blue  Hood  thanked 
her  for  being  so  kind  to  her  dog,  and  as  she  brought  her 
a  hot  French  roll,  sat  down  and  made  a  hearty  breakfast. 

"  I  shall  always  be  kind  to  both  you  and  the  dog,"  said 
the  old  woman,  "while  you  do  every  thing  I  wish." 
But  if  you  cry,  or  want  to  leave  me,  or  ever  speak  to 
anybody  when  we  are  out,  I  will  send  away  your  dog, 
and  as  for  you" — she  looked  at  the  child  and  said,  "  you 
will  learn  to  love  me." 

Little  Blue  Hood  submitted  to  have  her  hair  dyed,  and 
her  fair  face  and  arms  stained  without  a  murmur  ;  and  as 
for  Trot,  he  lay  quietly  in  her  arms,  and  never  attempted 
to  escape  when  she  shifted  him,  while  the  old  woman  ap- 
plied the  brush  to  every  part  where  there  was  a  speck  of 
white.  As  the  dye  dried  up  in  a  few  moments,  it  neither 
endangered  the  health  of  the  child  or  the  dog  ;  and  after 
being  applied  two  or  three  times,  the  hair  of  both  was  of 
a  raven  blackness,  while  the  skin  of  Little  Blue  Hood 
was  of  a  rich,  deep  olive. 

On  the  fourth  day,  the  old  woman  went  out  fearlessly 
with  Little  Blue  Hood  and  her  dog  for  a  walk  around  the 
neighborhood ;  and  in  the  shop  windows,  and  on  the 


THE  DISGUISE.  27 

walls  of  the  principal  streets,  saw  the  bills  offering  five 
hundred  pounds  reward  for  the  discovery  of  the  little 
girl  she  then  held  by  her  hand.  "  It  is  a  deal  of  money," 
she  thought  to  herself;  "and  I  might  get  my  old  servant 
to  say  she  had  found  the  child,  and  then  keep  out  of  the 
way  until  she  obtained  the  reward,  and  give  her  a  por 
tion  of  it,  for  but  little  would  content  her.  But  revenge 
is  sweeter  to  me  than  money,  and  her  father  threw  up  my 
cause,  then  sent  me  to  prison.  Oh  !  the  miserable  hours 
I  passed  within  those  walls.  No  ;  I  will  not  be  tempted 
by  the  reward  ;  keeping  his  child  will  give  him  the  heart- 
ache for  many  a  long  day,  and  that  will  be  some  consola- 
tion for  what  he  has  caused  me  to  suffer.  I  wish  she  had 
no  mother  alive,  for  her  mother  never  did  me  any  injury." 

How  new  and  strange  did  every  thing  appear  to  that 
dear  girl !  She  saw  children  but  little  bigger  than  herself 
going  of  errands,  and  making  purchases,  haggling  for  a 
farthing  out  of  the  dried  rasher  of  bacon,  picking  pieces  out 
of  the  loaves,  and  drinking  the  beer  they  were  taking 
home  ;  and  when  one  barefooted  child  came  running  up, 
and  bit  a  piece  off  the  end  of  her  farthing  sugar- stick,  and 
wanted  to  put  it  in  her  mouth,  Little  Blue  Hood  gave  her 
the  penny  the  old  woman  had  put  into  her  own  hand  to 
spend  in  whatever  she  might  take  a  fancy  to.  The  old  wo- 
man told  her  she  should  not  give  her  any  more  money  to 
spend  if  she  wasted  it  in  that  way  ;  then  added  a  silent  re- 
buke, by  going  up  to  a  cat'  s-meat  shop  and  purchasing 
some  meat  for  Trot. 

After  questioning  the  child,  the  old  woman  found  that 
she  knew  several  tunes,  and  could  sing  them  in  her  pretty 
way  ;  and  when  once  her  little  tongue  was  loose  it  ran  on, 
and  she  said,.  "  I  saw  a  little  girl  one  day,  no  bigger  than  I 


28  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

am,  dancing  and  playing  a  tambourine,  and  Ma  promised 
she  would  buy  me  one  some  day,  so  that  I  might  play  it 
and  dance  with  Trot,  and  said  she  would  teach  me  a  many 
more  tunes." 

"If  you  are  very  good,"  replied  the  old  woman,  "I 
will  buy  you  a  tambourine  to  play  on  and  dance  with 
Trot ;  you  already  know  plenty  of  tunes." 

Little  Blue  Hood  thanked  her,  and  took  hold  of  her 
hand  kindly  for  the  first  time.  A  strange  change  came 
over  the  old  woman's  countenance  as  she  took  the  child's 
hand  within  her  own,  and  she  felt  something  like  a  chok- 
ing sensation  before  giving  utterance  to  the  falsehood  that 
was  on  her  lips,  and  then  she  said : 

"Edith,  do  you  know  that  I  am  your  poor  old  grand- 
mother?" 

' '  My  grandmother  has  been  dead,  oh  !  such  a  long  while, ' ' 
replied  the  child;  "and  her  picture  is  in  the  drawing- 
room.  Ma  often  showed  it  me,  and  would  sit  still  and 
look  at  it  such  a  long  time." 

"But  you  had  two  grandmothers,"  said  the  old  woman. 
Little  Blue  Hood  shook  her  head,  and  then  she  knew  that 
the  falsehood  she  had  told  could  not  be  detected  by  the 
child,  and  so  she  said:  "That  picture  is  the  portrait  of 
your  Ma' s  mother.  I  am  your  father' s  mother  and  your 
other  grandmother.  Now  you  know  why  I  have  brought 
you  to  live  with  me." 

The  child  sat  silent,  and  full  of  thought  for  the  space  of 
a  minute  or  more,  then  said,  "Yes,  you  were  very  ill, 
and  went  where  it  was  always  warm,  a  long  way  off  over 
the  sea,  and  have  come  back  again.  But  why  did  you  not 
come  to  my  father' s  ;  to  those  two  pretty  rooms,  one  look- 
ing over  the  square,  and  the  other  windows  I  used  to  see 


THE  DISGUISE.  29 

from  the  garden,  and  which  are  always  called  grand- 
mother's rooms  ?" 

"Because  I  lost  my  money  over  the  sea,  and  came  "back 
poor,"  answered  the  old  woman  ;  "and  knew  your  father 
would  not  foe  kind  to  me.  You  would  not  be  unkind  to 
your  mother,  would  you,  were  she  old  and  poor  like  me  ?" 

' '  No ;  I  should  love  her  more,  and  give  her  all  my  money, 

and  all  my  toys,  and  I  should ."  But  the  tender  heart 

of  Little  Blue  Hood  was  too  full  for  her  to  say  what  more 
she  should  do,  were  her  dear  mother  old  and  poor,  so  she 
burst  into  tears,  and  buried  her  pretty  face  in  the  old  wo- 
man' s  lap.  The  wicked  old  hypocrite  kept  saying,  ' '  Don' t 
cry,  dear,  and  break  grandmother's  heart,"  all  the  while 
stroking  her  hair. 

At  last  she  took  out  her  little  handkerchief,  dried  her 
eyes,  and  said,  "Father  loves  me  dearly.  We  will  go 
home  ;  I  will  take  you  to  your  pretty  rooms,  play  the  tam- 
bourine dear  mother  will  buy  me,  and  Trot  shall  dance  with 
me,  and  father  will  love  you  because  you  are  my  grand- 
mother, and  you  shall  go  with  us  in  the  carriage.  Lock 
the  door,  and  let  us  all  go  now." 

"Yes,  we  will  some  day,"  answered  the  old  woman. 
"But  you  must  have  your  tambourine,  and  we  will  first 
go  out  into  the  pleasant  fields,  where  there  are  birds  and 
flowers,  and  you  shall  play  and  dance  to  me  there.  You 
will  like  that,  will  you  not  ?" 

"I  shall  like  it  very  much,"  replied  Little  Blue  Hood 
"because  it  will  be  like  our  large  garden  at  home.  And 
this  house  is  so  dark,  and  there  are  no  trees.  When 
shall  we  go?" 

"As  soon  as'  you  can  play  your  tambourine,"  replied 
the  old  woman ;  "I  will  buy  you  one  to-morrow." 


30  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

And  so  without  a  shadow  of  suspicion  on  the  part  of 
Little  Blue  Hood,  she  learned  to  dance  and  play  the  tam- 
bourine, to  the  great  delight  of  Trot,  and  with  a  hope  that 
she  should  soon  be  taken  home  by  the  wicked  old  woman, 
who  by  telling  falsehoods  had  got  her  to  believe  that  she 
was  her  grandmother. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MAKING    PREPARATION. 

had  a  gay  little  hat  and  coat  made  for  him,  which 
JL  fastened  under  his  throat  and  under  his  loins,  and  Little 
Blue  Hood  laughed,  with  something  of  her  old  merry 
home-laugh,  the  first  tune  she  saw  him  stand  up  to  dance 
with  her ;  he  had  such  a  droll  look  with  his  fore  paws 
hanging  down,  and  wore  his  new  dress  as  if  he  had  been 
used  to  it  all  his  life,  and  didn't  mind  it  at  all. 

He  didn't  know  what  to  make  of  the  tambourine  at  first, 
but  he  soon  got  used  to  it,  and  no  sooner  saw  it  in  the 
hands  of  his  little  mistress,  than  up  he  jumped,  and  began 
bobbing  about  on  his  hind  legs  in  a  moment.  The  hat 
seemed  to  be  rather  in  the  way  when  he  tumbled,  and 
he  was  made  to  understand  that  when  he  commenced  this 
part  of  the  performance,  he  was  to  take  it  off,  which  he 
did  very  nimbly  with  his  fore  paws,  and  that  was  called 
"  making  a  bow  to  the  ladies,"  and  no  sooner  were  those 
words  uttered  by  Little  Blue  Hood,  than  off  went  Trot's 
hat.  Then  he  was  taught  to  put  the  string  behind  his 


MAKING  PREPARATION.  31 

neck,  and  let  the  hat  rest  on  one  of  his  fore  paws,  and  so 
carry  it  before  him  with  the  crown  downwards. 

Dainty  bits  were  put  into  it  for  him  to  eat,  as  a  reward, 
and  he  became  so  perfect  that,  when  he  was  hungry,  and 
could  get  hold  of  his  hat,  he  would  carry  it  before  him 
and  begin  to  beg,  walking  round  the  table  on  his  hind 
legs. 

Never  was  so  perfect  a  little  beggar  made  of  a  dog  be- 
fore, as  Edith  made  of  Trot,  from  hints  given  her  by  the 
old  woman,  and  her  own  natural  drollery ;  and  often  when 
after  dancing  she  laid  down  her  tambourine,  he  would 
give  a  merry  "bow-wow-wow,"  which  was  his  way  of 
crying  ' '  bravo — encore. ' ' 

There  was  something  very  graceful  in  her  manner  of 
dancing,  in  the  way  she  threw  back  her  pretty  head,  and 
raised  her  arms,  while  beating  the  tambourine,  her  long 
hair  flying  about  with  the  motion,  and  her  eyes  sparkling 
again  with  delight,  as  she  watched  the  strange  antics  of 
Trot,  who  looked  as  grave  as  an  old  monk  while  he  went 
round  and  round,  with  his  tail  sweeping  the  floor,  and  his 
little  hat  falling  off  at  times. 

For  the  child,  the  old  woman  purchased  several  yards 
of  muslin,  to  make  her  dancing  frocks,  and  these  she  or- 
namented with  spangles  and  other  such  like  tinsel  decora- 
tions ;  also  buying  for  her  pink  silk  stockings  and  little 
white  boots,  which  contrasted  strongly  with  her  tawny 
face,  neck,  and  arms,  giving  her  quite  a  foreign  look  with 
her  long  hair  now  dyed  a  beautiful  rich  black. 

She  was  soon  perfect  enough  to  beat  time  to  her  meas- 
ured steps  on  the  tambourine,  and  even  Trot  caught  enough 
of  the  tune  to  move  his  hind  legs  more  rapidly  when  she 
quickened  the  beat. 


32  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 


of  drapery  had  also  been  placed  on  the  chairs,  and 
as  he  moved  from  one  seat  to  another,  with  his  hat  before 
him,  he  was  taught  to  make  a  bow  before  each  chair,  which 
he  did  by  shaking  his  head.  Money  was  also  dropped 
into  his  hat,  and  although  he  persisted  for  some  time  in 
taking  whatever  was  put  into  it  to  his  pretty  mistress  — 
•unless  it  was  food  —  he  was  at  last  made  to  deliver  his  hat 
to  the  old  woman,  who  returned  it  after  she  had  taken  out 
the  money. 

"  The  ladies  and  gentlemen  will  put  plenty  of  money  in 
Trot'  s  hat,  to  buy  him  meat  with  when  we  go  out  visiting,  '  ' 
said  the  artful  old  woman,  "  and  I  shall  save  it  all  for 
him.  '  '  And  she  never  breathed  a  word  to  Little  Blue  Hood 
about  their  performance  bringing  in  money  for  any  other 
purpose,  and  she  well  knew  that  the  affectionate  child 
would  do  any  thing,  that  laid  in  her  power,  for  her  dog. 

What  stories  were  told  to  win  the  affection  of  Little 
Blue  Hood,  after  she  got  her  to  believe  she  was  her  grand- 
mother, by  that  deceitful  old  woman,  can  hardly  be  con- 
ceived. She  told  the  child  that  when  she  left  England  to 
go  abroad  for  her  health,  she  was  only  a  little  baby  in  long 
clothes  ;  and  that  she  should  never  have  brought  her  away, 
had  not  her  father  refused  to  let  her  see  her  after  she  re- 
turned. 

And  Little  Blue  Hood  believed  all  she  said  ;  for,  never 
having  told  a  wilful  falsehood  in  her  life,  no  such  thought 
entered  her  innocent  mind,  as  that  her  pretended  grand- 
mother was  constantly  telling  her  lies  to  win  her  pity  and 
love,  to  serve  her  own  wicked  and  selfish  ends. 

At  last,  the  child  began  to  think  her  father  was  very  un 
kind  to  his  aged  mother,  and  this  puzzled  her  very  much, 
as  he  was  so  kind  to  everybody,  and  so  charitable  to  the 


MAKING  PKEPAKATION.  33 

poor,  and  loved  lier  so  dearly.  But  the  idea  entered  her 
mind,  and  the  old  woman  deepened  the  impression  she  saw 
she  had  made,  by  adding  falsehood  to  falsehood,  until  at 
last  the  child  showed  less  regret  at  the  thought  of  leaving 
her  father,  while  her  wish  to  see  her  dear  mother  was  una 
"bated. 

Had  she  been  older  and  able  to  reason,  she  would  have 
sat  down  and  recalled  every  thing  she  could  remember  in 
connection  with  her  father' s  character,  and  would  soon 
have  convinced  herself  that  the  old  woman's  assertions 
were  as  false  as  if  she  had  said  that  when  the  sun  shone  it 
made  the  earth  dark. 

Every  necessary  preparation  had  been  made  for  some 
days,  when  one  evening  the  old  woman  went  out  after  tea, 
leaving  the  child  to  amuse  herself  with  her  dog,  and  prom- 
ising to  bring  in  something  very  nice  for  supper  when  she 
came  back.  She  was  gone  a  long  time,  and  when  she  re- 
turned, she  said,  "You  shall  have  your  pretty  frock  on 
to-morrow,  and  I  am  going  to  give  you  a  ride  in  a  steam- 
packet,  where  you  will  see  a  great  many  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen with  their  children,  and  you  are  to  show  them  how 
beautifully  you  can  dance,  and  all  the  tricks  Trot  can  do. 
Will  it  not  be  pleasant  V 

Little  Blue  Hood  was  delighted  at  the  thought  of  such 
a  pleasant  trip.  The  boat  was  hired  by  a  party  of  publi- 
cans for  an  excursion  to  Gravesend  and  back,  and  the  old 
woman  had  obtained  permission  to  show  her  little  perform- 
ance on  board. 
3 


34  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    FIEST    PERFORMANCE. 

'  rFHE  old  woman,  Little  Blue  Hood,  and  Trot  were  among 
J_  the  earliest  arrivals,  and  took  their  places  on  a  seat  near 
the  entrance  of  the  best  cabin  of  the  steamboat,  Trot  hid- 
ing himself  under  the  cloak  of  his  little  mistress,  and  pok- 
ing his  old-fashioned  head  out  every  now  and  then  to  see 
what  was  going  on.  The  dog' s  hat  and  the  tambourine 
were  concealed  under  the  old  woman's  cloak  ;  his  new 
jacket  he  wore,  and  the  child  had  put  on  her  dancing  dress. 

The  excursionists  soon  began  to  arrive  ;  the  women 
were  fine  portly  dames,  expensively  if  not  tastefully 
dressed  ;  the  children  also  were  clean,  healthy,  and  happy  ; 
while  their  husbands,  having  for  one  day  left  their  bars  to 
the  care  of  their  servants,  looked  as  if  they  meant  to  enjoy 
themselves,  and  were  altogether  as  fine  a  set  of  "jolly  fel- 
lows" as  ever  the  sun  shone  on.  A  few  children  from  the 
Licensed  Victuallers'  School  had,  at  the  request  of  the 
landlords  and  landladies,  who  had  known  their  parents, 
been  allowed  to  join  the  excursionists  ;  and  no  sooner  did 
they  come  on  board,  than  great  packages  of  good  things 
were  thrust  into  their  hands  ;  and  one  smiling  hostess,  as 
big  round  as  one  of  Barclay' s  beer  butts,  thrust  a  packet 
of  Banbury  cakes  into  the  hand  of  Little  Blue  Hood. 

Trot  was  out  of  his  hiding-place  in  an  instant,  and  beg- 
ging with  all  his  might;  and  a  pretty  clapping  of  little 
hands  and  "  Oh  mys  !"  there  was  when  the  children  saw 
him,  in  his  spangled  jacket,  performing  all  his  wonderful 
tricks.  Men  and  women  began  to  cluster  round,  and  the 


THE  FIRST  PERFORMANCE.  35 

children  to  climlb  on  the  seats ;  and  when  the  old  woman 
said — "If  they  would  clear  a  space  round  the  deck  they 
should  see  her  little  granddaughter  dance  with  her  dog," 
the  landlords  began  to  put  their  laughing  wives  out  of  the 
way  as  they  would  have  done  so  many  "barrels  that  had 
stood  in  the  road  of  customers  coming  to  their  bars. 

A  gangway  was  soon  made  between  the  seats  all  round 
the  after- deck,  and  Little  Blue  Hood,  slipping  off  her  cloak, 
and  with  such  a  courtesy  as  is  never  taught  at  schools, 
shook  the  tambourine  above  her  pretty  head,  while  with 
a  footfall  almost  as  noiseless  as  the  dew  falling  on  the  fleece 
of  a  sleeping  lamb,  she  commenced  dancing  with  a  grace 
that  surprised  the  beholders,  as  much  as  the  bobbing  about 
of  Trot  with  his  hat  on  delighted  the  children. 

Even  through  the  dye  which  stained  her  cheeks,  a  close 
observer  might  have  seen  the  color  rise  when  she  began 
her  first  performance — that  blush  of  modesty  which  caused 
her  to  doubt  her  own  ability  for  a  moment,  and  was  as  sud- 
denly lost  in  the  loud  shouts  of  applause  that  greeted  her. 
The  old  woman  gazed  on  her  in  silent  wonder ;  she  had 
never  seen  her  do  any  thing  like  it  before. 

The  smooth,  spacious  deck  afforded  ample  room  for  her 
graceful  movements  every  way,  while  the  fresh  air  from 
the  river,  and  the  cheerful  sunshine  seemed  to  give  her 
new  inspiration.  Whichever  way  she  looked  presented 
a  new  image  of  beauty.  You  could  no  more  transfix  her 
airy  steps,  the  motion  of  her  arms,  as  she  whirled  the  tam- 
bourine aloft,  and  her  ever- varying  and  graceful  postures, 
than  you  could  the  twinkling  of  a  sunbeam ;  for  before 
the  eye  had  time  to  take  in  one  position,  it  had  changed  to 
something  far  more  beautiful.  She  had  been  taught  by 
her  mother,  who,  in  the  days  of  her  maidenhood,  was  one 


36  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

of  the  most  graceful  dancers  human  eye  ever  dwelt 
upon. 

Trot  also  came  in  for  his  share  of  applause,  and  when 
he  took  off  his  hat  and  made  a  bow  to  the  ladies  there  was 
such  a  clapping  of  hands  as  made  the  ears  tingle  again. 
Only  to  look  at  his  droll  countenance  would  have  made  a 
grave  monk  laugh  over  his  prayers.  Trot  went  round  as 
he  had  been  taught,  with  the  string  of  his  hat  slung  behind 
his  neck,  and  the  crown  resting  on  one  of  his  fore  paws  as 
he  carried  it  before  him,  while  walking  upright  on  his  hind 
legs,  and  received  nothing  but  silver  from  his  admirers ; 
for  the  children  were  not  allowed  to  contribute. 

The  publicans  and  their  wives  had  come  out  to  spend 
money,  and  parted  with  it  freely — sixpences,  shillings, 
florins,  and  even  half-crowns,  came  tumbling  into  the  dog' s 
hat,  until  it  was  nearly  filled.  One  good-natured  landlord 
had  no  silver,  so  put  in  half  a  sovereign,  intending  to  give 
two  shillings  for  himself  and  his  wife  ;  but,  no  sooner  did 
he  attempt  to  take  out  of  Trot's  hat  the  eight  shillings 
change,  than  the  dog  growled  and  showed  his  teeth,  and 
placed  his  other  paw  over  his  hat  to  the  great  amusement 
of  the  lookers  on. 

"What  a  capital  barman  he  would  make,"  said  one  ; 
"  no  money  returned  after  it  has  once  passed  into  the  till ;' ' 
and  his  brother  publicans  laughed  again,  until  the  land- 
lord himself,  who  was  the  victim,  joined  in  the  merriment, 
saying,  "  Well,  it's  the  first  tune  I  ever  trusted  to  a  dog 
to  give  me  change  ;  but  remember,  old  fellow,"  speaking 
to  Trot,  "when  you  come  to  my  bar,  I  shall  expect  you 
to  stand  a  bottle  of  wine." 

The  old  woman  offered  to  give  him  back  the  change 
after  she  had  emptied  the  well-filled  hat  into  her  capa- 


THE  FIEST  PEEFOEMANCE.  37 

cious  pocket ;  "but  this  the  publicans  would  not  allow ; 
for,  as  they  said,  "They  had  had  fun  enough  for  their 
money."  Then,  as  they  dropped  the  money  into  Trot's 
hat,  they  gave  him  "bits  of  sandwiches,  fowl,  tongue, 
"beef,  sausage-rolls,  and  no  end  of  other  good  things,  with 
which  they  were  well  provided ;  for  they  began  to  eat 
and  drink  almost  as  soon  as  the  "boat  was  on  her  way,  as 
many  of  them  had  not  "breakfasted. 

But,  if  Trot  was  the  favorite  of  the  children,  Little  Blue 
Hood  won  the  hearts  of  the  wives  of  the  publicans.  Her 
beautiful  features,  modest  manners,  and  low,  sweet  voice, 
as  she  replied  to  them  with  downcast  eyes,  made  many  a 
one  wish,  as  they  kissed  her,  that  they  had  such  a  little 
darling  to  call  their  own,  especially  those  who  were 
childless.  One  wealthy  wine-merchant  came  up,  a  plain, 
homely,  kind-hearted  man,  and  giving  the  old  woman  his 
card,  said:  "Look  you  here,  missus,  my  wife's  taken  a 
strange  fancy  to  your  pretty  granddaughter ;  and  if 
you've  a  mind  to  bring  her,  and  both  of  you  come  and 
live  with  us,  we'll  try  to  make  you  as  happy  as  the  days 
are  long.  She  shall  be  brought  up  like  a  lady ;  and  as 
we  have  no  child,  and  as  I  am  worth  a  few  thousands, 
and  we  have  nobody  to  leave  it  to  but  the  school,  we'll 
leave  her  well  oif  when  we  are  all  dead  and  gone.  Think 
it  over,  mother,  and  come  any  time  ;  you  shall  both  be  as 
welcome  as  flowers  in  May." 

He  meant  what  he  said.  They  had  buried  their  only 
child  when  she  was  about  the  same  age  as  Little  Blue 
Hood,  and  the  wine-merchant' s  wife  fancied  she  traced  a 
strange  resemblance  in  our  little  dancer  to  her  lost  daugh- 
ter. But  it  was  only  fancy. 

Little  Blue  Hood  and  the  old  woman  remained  all  day 


88  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

with  the  excursionists,  and  she  repeated  her  performance 
in  the  cabin,  on  their  return  in  the  evening,  when  it  was 
too  dark  to  remain  on  deck.  The  child  had  money  given 
to  her,  which  she  was  told  to  keep  for  herself ;  but  on 
reaching  home,  she  gave  it  all  to  the  old  woman,  for  she 
hardly  knew  the  use  of  money,  beyond  giving  it  to  the 
poor,  as  every  thing  had  beforetime  been  purchased  for 
her  that  her  heart  or  her  eye  desired. 

That  night,  while  Edith  was  asleep,  the  old  woman 
counted  up  the  money  for  the  first  time,  and  said  to  her- 
self, "A  few  such  days  as  these,  and  we  shall  have  no 
need  to  go  trailing  out  in  the  cold,  dark  days  of  winter." 

Perhaps  she  was  thinking  more  of  saving  herself  than 
of  sparing  Little  Blue  Hood ;  though,  for  the  first  tune, 
she  felt  as  kindly  towards  the  child,  while  looking  at  the 
pile  of  money,  as  a  cruel  master  does  towards  the  donkey 
he  has  been  beating  all  day,  when  he  counts  up  the  pro- 
duce at  night,  and  thinks  he  should  not  have  been  the 
possessor  of  such  a  sum,  had  it  depended  on  himself,  in- 
stead of  his  hard-working  animal. 


CHAPTER  X. 

MEETING    AND    PARTING. 

T  ITTLE  Blue  Hood  pined  for  the  fresh  air,  the  smell  of 
1 1  green  fields,  and  the  wide-spreading  sunshine — the 
gold  of  heaven  which  is  dispensed  alike  to  the  evil  and  to 
the  good — and  which  seemed  imprisoned  in  the  close 
courts  and  alleys  of  the  old  Borough,  and  beat  its  golden 


MEETING  AND  PARTING.  39 

wings  against  the  shattered  casements  and  dilapidated 
door  ways,  as  if  to  get  away  ;  and  after  a  day  or  two,  the 
old  woman  gave  her  consent  to  the  promised  journey  into 
the  country. 

She  locked  up  her  room,  aud-taking  a  change  of  cloth- 
ing for  the  child,  entered  the  first  Norwood  omnibus  that 
passed,  concealing  her  bundle  and  the  tambourine  under 
her  cloak ;  while  Trot,  as  if  fancying  that  he  was  again 
taking  his  usual  airing  in  the  carriage,  jumped  upon  the 
seat,  and  rearing  up,  amused  himself  by  looking  out  of 
the  open  window  of  the  omnibus,  and  barking  at  every- 
body they  passed. 

That  morning  the  old  woman  was  in  one  of  her  sullen 
moods,  for  there  were  times  when,  beyond  a  "yes"  or  a 
"no,"  she  never  spoke  to  the  child  for  hours  together :  it 
may  be,  that  during  such  intervals,  the  worm  of  remorse 
was  gnawing  at  her  conscience,  and  allowing  her  no  rest 
because  of  the  evil  she  was  doing.  Had  a  stranger  seen 
those  two  faces  in  the  morning  sunshine,  as  they  walked 
along  the  high  road  that  looks  over  London  on  the  one 
hand,  and  far  away  over  the  pastoral  scenery  of  Surrey 
and  Kent  on  the  other,  he  would  have  been  struck  by  the 
resemblance  they  bore  to  the  personification  of  Good  and 
Evil,  as  they  have  been  pictured  in  all  ages. 

The  sweet  sunshine,  the  singing  of  the  birds,  the  mur- 
mur of  myriads  of  insects  in  the  air,  the  long  leaves  ever 
making  a  low  rustle,  when  stirred  by  the  refreshing 
breeze,  as  if  they  were  talking  in  whispers  to  one  another, 
made  the  heart  of  the  child  glad  ;  and  she  began  to  carol 
snatches  of  little  songs,  which  she  had  caught  up  from 
her  dear  mother,  and  which,  to  a  listening  ear,  would 
have  been  the  sweetest  music  of  all. 


40  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

In  the  countenance  of  the  old  woman  there  was  nothing 
glad,  nothing  even  hopeful,  and  as  she  looked  at  Little 
Blue  Hood,  it  was  with  an  evil  eye,  as  if  she  not  only  en- 
vied, but  hated  her  for  being  so  happy :  like  those  bad 
spirits  who,  consigned  to  the  bottomless  pit  for  the  crimes 
they  committed  while  on  earth,  sometimes  rise  to  the  sur- 
face, and  catch  afar  off  through  the  opening  smoke  and 
flame,  dim  glimpses  of  the  golden  battlements  of  heaven, 
and  the  white-winged  ranks  who  stand  there  amid  the 
surrounding  glory. 

Regardless  of  the  white  dust  which  curled  up  and 
drove  before  her,  powdering  all  the  wayside  flowers,  the 
child  went  singing  along  her  way ;  while  Trot,  at  one 
moment  gave  chase  to  a  butterfly,  and  the  next  set  off  in 
pursuit  of  a  bird,  going  over  five  or  six  miles  of  ground 
to  every  mile  they  traversed,  barking  and  bounding,  and 
jumping  up  to  his  little  mistress,  who  often  had  a  run 
with  him  over  the  green  wastes  that  edged  the  dusty 
highroad  with  a  border  of  grass  and  flowers.  Sometimes, 
seeing  the  old  woman  so  sad  and  silent,  the  child  came 
alongside  her  and  slipped  her  dear  little  hand  into  the 
other' s  palm,  chatting  away  all  the  time  to  comfort  her,  or 
bringing  her  a  few  wild  flowers  to  please  her,  until  at 
last  the  old  woman' s  stern  brow  relaxed. 

"I'm  sure  the  poor  dog  must  be  hungry,"  said  the  old 
woman,  as  they  stood  before  a  large  mansion  where  sev- 
eral ladies  -and  gentlemen  were  either  seated  on  the 
smooth  lawn,  or  pacing  about  the  broad  gravel  walks 
and  shrubberies.  "Go  inside  with  the  dog,  and  I  will 
come  to  you  if  they  receive  you  kindly.  Put  on  his  hat 
and  jacket,  and  give  me  your  cloak ;  there  is  your  tam- 
bourine. Don't  be  afraid;  they'll  no  doubt  give  Trot  a 


MEETING  AND  PARTING.  41 

good  dinner,"  and  while  she  spoke  she  unloosed  the 
child's  hair,  wiped  the  dust  off  her  "boots,  and  put  the 
crumpled  folds  of  her  spangled  frock  into  order. 

At  the  first  beat  of  her  tambourine,  there  was  a  look  of 
welcome  in  the  countenances  of  the  party  before  the  man- 
sion, as  if  they  were  glad  of  the  change  ;  for  even  pretty 
young  ladies  become  as  weary  of  hearing  the  same  com- 
pliments, hour  after  hour,  as  gentleman  do  in  uttering 
them,  and  the  presence  of  Little  Blue  Hood  and  her  dog 
was  quite  a  relief,  for  one  or  two  of  the  party  were  al- 
ready yawning,  and  wishing  it  were  time  for  luncheon. 

It  would  only  be  a  repetition  of  what  took  place  on  the 
steamboat  to  record  the  applause  she  won,  and  how  well 
Trot  acquitted  himself,  though  this  time  she  performed 
before  a  more  discriminating  audience. 

"  Were  the  child  fair  instead  of  dark,"  said  one  lady  to 
another,  "I  should  fancy  it  was  Little  Blue  Hood,  for  she 
has  just  the  same  graceful  action  I  have  seen  in  that  lost 
little  darling,  when  dancing  before  her  mother." 

The  old  woman,  who  was  standing  behind  her,  heard 
every  word  she  said,  and  was  now  as  anxious  to  put  a 
stop  to  the  performance  as  she  had  before  been  for  it  to 
commence.  But  the  gentlemen  cried  "encore,"  and  the 
ladies  applauded,  without  ever  thinking  how  much  such 
exertions  in  the  hot  summer  sunshine  wearied  the  pretty 
dancer.  The  master  of  the  mansion,  seeing  that  the  child 
looked  tired,  ordered  a  servant  to  bring  out  wine,  which 
he  handed  to  Little  Blue  Hood  himself;  and  when  he 
found  she  preferred  water,  which  was  soon  brought,  and 
refused  any  refreshment  for  herself,  but  in  her  low,  sweet 
voice,  and  with  eyes  cast  down  said,  "I  danced  for  you 
to  give  some  dinner  to  my  little  dog,"  he  patted  her  on 


42  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

the  head,  for  lie  was  fond  of  dogs,  and  ordered  some 
cold  meat  to  be  given  to  Trot. 

It  takes  very  little  to  create  a  sensation,  even  amongst 
fashionable  people,  when  they  are  moping  in  a  country 
house  ;  and  Little  Blue  Hood,  seated  on  the  lawn,  feeding 
Trot  from  a  plate  of  cold  roast  beef,  caused  the  ladies  to 
gather  round  and  admire  her,  and  the  gentlemen  to  apply 
their  glasses  to  their  eyes  and  exclaim,  "Quite  charming! 
a  most  interesting  and  beautiful  child."  Another,  after 
stooping  down  and  examining  her  through  his  glass, 
said:  "A  most  singular  and  natural  phenomenon:  dark 
skin,  black  hair,  and  light-blue  eyes:  fine  subject  for 
Darwin  in  his  Origin  of  Species" 

Money  had  again  been  thrown  by  reckless  if  not  gene- 
rous hands  into  Trot's  hat;  and  the  old  woman  every 
moment  became  more  anxious  to  get  away,  having  reaped 
another  good  harvest,  and  becoming  fearful,  from  the  re- 
marks already  made,  that  questions  might  be  put  to  her 
which  would  be  difficult  to  answer,  and  lead  in  the  end, 
perhaps,  to  discovering  that  she  had  stolen  the  child. 
This  suspicion  caused  her  to  speak  cross  to  Little  Blue 
Hood,  who  was  playing  with  the  dog  while  she  fed  him, 
and  making  him  do  several  little  tricks  which  he  had  not 
before  exhibited ;  until  at  last  the  old  woman  lost  her 
temper,  and  taking  the  child  by  the  arm,  dragged  her 
roughly  away. 

On  one  side  of  the  mansion  was  a  swinging  gate,  open- 
ing into  a  footpath  that  cut  through  the  corner  of  a  wood, 
if  so  small  a  space  of  ground,  with  its  few  remaining  trees 
and  undergrowth  of  wild  shrubbery,  may  be  called  by 
such  a  name  ;  though  it  was  all  that  was  left  of  what  had 
been  a  large  wood,  only  a  few  years  ago,  through  which 


MEETING  AND  PARTING.  43 

a  railroad  now  ran,  overlooking  large  spaces  of  cleared 
ground,  that  here  and  there  were  built  upon. 

They  had  scarcely  got  inside  the  gate,  which  Little 
Blue  Hood  was  in  the  act  of  swinging  back,  as  she  stood 
with  her  face  to  the  high  road,  when  a  carriage  drew  up 
with  a  slackening  pace,  as  if  its  destination  was  the  man- 
sion they  had  just  quitted.  Little  Blue  Hood  raised  her 
eyes  to  look  at  the  open  carriage,  and  exclaimed,  "Moth- 
er !  mother !"  throwing  out  her  arms  over  the  closed  gate, 
as  if  to  reach  the  lady  in  the  carriage.  At  the  selfsame 
moment  of  time  the  old  woman  also  raised  her  eyes,  and 
saw  the  father  and  mother  of  Little  Blue  Hood  in  the  car- 
riage ;  then  seizing  the  child  by  the  wrist,  she  said,  hiss- 
ing out  the  words  through  her  clenched  teeth,  "  Speak 
another  word  and  I'll  strangle  you,"  plunged  with  her 
into  the  dense  underwood,  leaving  far  behind  the  cry  and 
the  shriek  of  "My  child!  my  child!"  uttered  by  the 
mother  as  she  fainted  away  in  the  arms  of  her  husband. 

The  owner  of  the  mansion,  a  distinguished  member  of 
parliament,  and  an  intimate  friend  of  the  father  of  Little 
Blue  Hood,  had  persuaded  him  to  bring  Ms  lady  down 
for  a  day  or  two,  for  a  change  of  air  and  to  see  his  roses, 
which  were  then  in  perfection.  Had  she  arrived  ten  min- 
utes earlier,  she  would  have  seen  her  daughter  dancing  on 
the  lawn. 

When  the  mother  of  Little  Blue  Hood  recovered  from 
her  swoon,  and  heard  the  remarks  of  the  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen who  gathered  around  her,  she  was  still  of  the  same 
opinion,  and  in  her  own  mind  felt  certain  that  it  was  the 
voice  of  her  child  she  had  heard.  "  Say  what  you  will," 
she  replied,  "that  voice  pierced  my  heart.  It  might  be  a 
dream,  for  I  think  I  was  dozing  at  the  time  ;  but  sleeping 


44  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

or  waking,  it  was  the  voice  of  my  lost  darling  that  I 
heard."  Her  husband  and  the  servants  had  also  heard 
that  cry  of  "Mother!  mother!"  but  hers  was  the  only 
heart  it  had  reached. 

Clear-headed  as  the  father  of  Little  Blue  Hood  was, 
and  able  to  pick  out  a  grain  of  truth  from  under  a  pile  of 
falsehood,  the  thought  that  his  child's  skin  might  have 
"been  stained,  and  her  hair  dyed,  never  entered  his  mind. 
Then  the  dog  was  "black  too !  and  so  one  of  the  shrewdest 
lawyers  in  England  was  outwitted  "by  a  change  so  simple 
and  easy,  that  a  child  might  have  done  it,  if  supplied 
with  the  materials,  as  well  as  that  treacherous  and  wick- 
ed old  woman.  He  was  ashamed  to  send  out  servants  to 
search  for  them,  after  the  evidence  given  by  the  company ; 
and  even  the  lady,  who  had  remarked  how  much  the 
dark  child's  dancing  reminded  her  of  Little  Blue  Hood, 
was  convinced  through  the  cross-examination  of  the 
clever  lawyer,  that  there  was  no  resemblance  at  all  be- 
tween the  two ;  while  the  gentleman  who  noticed  her 
beautiful  light-blue  eyes,  almost  began  to  think  that  they 
must  have  been  as  black  as  sloes,  after  he  had  been  ques- 
tioned by  the  child' s  father. 

And  how  often  do  we  meet  with  people  like  the  father 
of  Little  Blue  Hood  who  are  too  clever  by  half;  and  who, 
if  told  that  you  had  seen  a  rainbow  in  the  sky,  would 
have  argued  for  the  hour  together  that  you  ought  not  to 
believe  your  eyes,  unless  you  could  prove  what  material 
it  was  made  of.  If,  instead  of  displaying  his  skill  in 
cross-examining  his  friend's  visitors,  he  had  sent  out  at 
once  to  search  for  the  old  woman  and  child,  he  would 
have  recovered  his  daughter,  and  brought  back  happiness 
to  the  heart  of  his  disconsolate  lady,  whose  beautiful  face 


DEAF  AND  DUMB.  45 

had  never  been  lighted  up  with  a  smile  since  the  day  she 
lost  her  dear  Little  Blue  Hood. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

DEAF    AND    DUMB. 

whole  nature  of  that  Ibad  old  woman,  instead  of 
having  undergone  a  change,  was  now  revealed  in  its 
true  and  hideous  light,  as  clutching  Little  Blue  Hood  by 
the  wrist,  she  dragged  her  through  the  dense  underwood, 
regardless  of  the  thorns  and  brambles  that  scratched  and 
tore  the  arms  and  legs  of  the  child,  and  which  in  her  pas- 
sion she  herself  did  not  feel  at  the  time,  though  her 
wrinkled  old  limbs  felt  the  pain  afterwards. 

Avarice  was  now  added  to  her  other  evil  motives  for  re- 
taining the  child,  for  the  sums  of  money  she  obtained 
through  her  performance,  trebled  her  most  remote  calcula- 
tions. And  then  to  think  how  near  she  was  losing  her, 
and  how  severe  a  punishment  she  must  have  received  had 
the  carriage  arrived  only  one  minute  earlier  while  they 
had  been  on  the  open  highroad.  "  I  never  thought  of  her 
voice,"  said  the  old  woman  to  herself;  "  there  is  no  stain- 
ing or  dyeing  that.  But  in  future,  excepting  when  we 
are  alone,  she  must  appear  deaf  and  dumb.  I  will  make 
her  do  that." 

When  they  arrived  at  an  open  space  in  the  wood,  the 
savage  old  woman  said,  "  Sit  down.  What  are  you  cry- 
ing for?" 


46  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

"Because  I  want  to  go  to  my  mother,  and  you  have 
hurt  me  with  the  sharp  thorns,"  replied  Little  Blue 
Hood,  while  Trot  reared  up,  and  "began  to  lick  off  the 
tears  as  they  trickled  down  her  cheeks. 

"Have  I  not  told  you  that  when  the  time  comes  we 
will  both  go  to  her  ?"  said  the  old  woman.  "The  time  has 
not  yet  come.  You  want  to  leave  your  poor  old  grand- 
mother to  go  wandering  about  all  alone,  until  she  loses 
herself,  and  lies  down  somewhere  to  die  where  nobody 
will  find  her." 

"I  do  not  want  to  leave  you,"  replied  the  child,  "but 
to  take  you  with  me  to  my  mother,  and  I  am  sure  father 
will  be  kind  to  you." 

"I  hate  your  father,"  answered  the  old  woman,  sav- 
agely ;  "and  would  sooner  see  you  dead  and  buried  than 
let  you  return  to  him.  Yes,  buried  alive  ;  for  I  could  not 
find  in  my  heart  to  kill  you." 

"Buried  alive!"  exclaimed  the  child,  looking  at  the 
old  woman  horror-stricken.  "Oh!  that  would  be  very 
dreadful!" 

"Yes;  you  would  lie  there  covered  up  in  a  little 
churchyard,"  continued  the  old  woman,  "  and  nobody 
would  know  that  you  were  there.  You  would  hear  the 
bells  ring,  and  feel  the  shaking  of  the  ground  above  you 
as  the  people  walked  over  your  grave  to  go  to  church ; 
but  they  would  not  hear  you,  however  loud  you  might 
shout.  And  there  would  be  no  light,  nor  any  thing  for- 
you  to  eat  or  drink,  though  you  would  be  both  hungry 
and  thirsty ;  and  would  only  have  the  dead  outside  you 
for  company." 

The  child  shuddered  as  she  cast  down  her  eyes,  then 
said,  "Oh,  do  not  bury  me  alive.  I  will  do  all  you  tell 


DEAF  AND  DUMB.  47 

me,  and  "be  very  good.  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  "because  I 
say  my  prayers  and  shall  go  to  heaven.  But  to  lie  in  the 
cold,  dark  ground  alive  and  hear  the  bells  ring  and  the 
people  all  walking  and  talking  above  me  in  the  sunshine, 
would  be  worse  than  if  you  killed  me  with  your  sharp 
<  scissors,  as  you  said  you  would  Trot;"  and  she  drew 
closer  to  the  old  woman,  while  she  pleaded  so  pitifully, 
trembling  as  she  ventured  to  take  hold  of  her  wrinkled 
hand. 

"I  love  you  too  well  to  injure  a  single  hair  of  your 
pretty  head,"  said  the  cruel  old  hypocrite,  "and  it  is 
only  when  I  fear  that  I  may  lose  you,  that  I  seem  to  wish 
you  dead.  Promise  to  obey  me  in  every  thing  I  may  wish 
you  to  do,  and  we  shall  soon  return  to  your  mother,  never 
to  leave  her  any  more." 

"I  promise  to  obey  you  in  every  thing,"  said  Little 
Blue  Hood,  "for  I  know  you  will  not  wish  me  to  do  any 
thing  that  is  wrong  or  wicked." 

"  Then  hear  me,"  said  the  old  woman,  fixing  one  of  her 
cruel  looks  on  the  child,  "you  must  appear  to  be  deaf 
and  dumb,  never  seeming  to  hear  any  thing,  whatever 
people  may  say." 

The  tears  again  fell  like  rain,  and  at  last  she  said, 
"  But  may  I  not  talk  to  my  dog  ?" 

"No,  you  must  never  speak  at  all,"  said  the  old 
woman,  "  excepting  when  I  tell  you  ;  and  that  will  only 
be  when  there  is  no  one  by  to  hear  you  but  myself.  You 
are  to  be  the  little  deaf  and  dumb  dancing  girl.  There, 
you  can  talk  to  Trot  now  as  much  as  you  like,  but  after 
we  are  out  of  this  wood,  you  must  not  utter  a  single  word 
again,  until  I  bid  you  speak." 

Little  Blue  Hood  took  the  food  the  old  woman  gave  her 


48  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

for  her  dinner,  and  went  to  the  farthest  side  of  the  open 
green  space,  and  there  sat  down  under  a  tree,  her  heart  too 
sad  to  allow  of  her  tasting  a  morsel ;  and,  as  she  fed  Trot, 
who  seemed  always  to  be  hungry,  she  stroked  him,  and 
said,  "I  am  never  to  talk  to  you  any  more,  Trot,  only 
when  we  are  by  ourselves  ;  but  you  will  love  me  all  the 
same,  will  you  not  ?  and  know  what  I  mean  when  I  only 
look  at  you,  and  never  leave  me  to  run  far  away  and  be 
lost,  because  I  must  not  call  to  you  to  come  back  again  \ 
No,  you  will  be  a  good  dog,  and  know  that  though  I 
must  not  speak,  I  shall  always  be  thinking  of  you,  and 
dear  mother  and  father,  and  home.  And  when  we  see 
dear  mother  again,  we  will  run  to  her  and  jump  into  the 
carriage,  and  tell  the  coachman  to  gallop  with  us  all  the 
way  home ;  for  grandmother  does  not  love  us  as  dear 
mother  does,  who  always  liked  to  hear  me  talk  and  sing. 
And  now  kiss  me  ;  for  I  must  not  speak  to  you  any  more 
to-day." 

Trot  touched  her  dear  face  with  his  black  nose,  looking 
as  if  he  understood  every  word  she  said,  and  a  great  deal 
more,  for  running  to  where  there  was  an  opening  between 
the  trees,  he  began  to  bark,  as  if  he  would  have  said, 
"Let's  be  off  down  here  ;  the  old  woman  can't  catch  us 
if  we  run  our  fastest ;  and  I  don't  like  her  ways  at  all.  I 
knew  the  horses  the  moment  I  saw 'em;  for  I've  often 
had  a  sleep  beside  them  in  the  stable.  Come  along,  I'll 
run  up  to  the  door  and  give  a  bark,  and  your  mother  will 
soon  come  out.  It  isn't  very  far."  And  Trot  ran  some 
distance  along  the  entangled  footpath,  as  if  to  show  her 
the  way  ;  then,  finding  that  she  did  not  follow  him,  came 
galloping  back  again. 

When  Little  Blue  Hood  sat  down  beside  the  old  wo- 


THE  SILENT  JOUKNEY  49 

man,  and  looked  at  her  careworn  and  sorrowful  counte- 
nance, her  heart  reproached  her  for  entertaining  for  a 
moment  the  thought  of  running  away  and  leaving  her, 
and  she  said,  "  Never  mind,  if  I  see  my  mother,  I  will  not 
call  to  her,  nor  go  away  until  you  go  with  me  ;  but  will 
"be  kinder  to  you  than  my  father  is,  if  you  will  love  me." 
And  so  saying,  she  laid  her  head  down  in  the  old  wo- 
man' s  lap,  and  was  soon  asleep  ;  for  the  long  walk,  and 
dancing  on  the  lawn,  had  wearied  her. 

The  old  woman  answered  not  a  word:  though  she 
showed  some  little  kindness  in  throwing  a  corner  of  her 
cloak  over  the  face  of  the  child  while  she  slept,  to  shelter 
her  from  the  noonday  sun.  Trot,  also,  coiled  himself  up 
into  a  ball,  and  was  soon  sound  asleep  at  the  feet  of  Little 
Blue  Hood. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    SILENT    JOURNEY. 

*  "If"  ANY  a  picturesque  village  and  tranquil  homestead  did 
1TJ.  they  pass,  in  the  course  of  the  week  they  spent  in  wan- 
dering about  the  borders  of  Kent  and  Surrey ;  and  the 
old  woman  collected  large  sums  at  times,  before  respecta- 
ble houses,  for  the  performance  of  Little  Blue  Hood  and 
her  dog. 

She  generally  halted  early  in  the  evening,  at  any  clean 

quiet  roadside  cottage  that  took  her  fancy,  always  paying 

liberally  for  the  accommodation,  on  condition  that  she  and 

the  child  had  a  room  to  themselves.     Many  a  dainty  m  >r- 

4 


50  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

sel,  which,  she  shared  with  Trot,  was  given  to  that  beauti- 
ful child ;  and  many  a  kind  eye  looked  suspiciously  on 
the  old  woman,  and  had  their  doubts  about  Little  Blue 
Hood  being  deaf  and  dumb,  through  the  changes  they  saw 
take  place  in  her  sweet  face,  when  they  asked  questions 
about  her ;  to  which,  if  the  old  woman  made  answer  at  all, 
she  only  told  falsehoods. 

Often  was  the  child  about  to  return  thanks  to  those  who 
were  so  kind  to  her  and  her  dog,  and  the  words  would 
sometimes  spring  unaware  to  her  lips,  for  hers  was  a  most 
grateful  heart ;  but  only  in  one  or  two  instances  did  she 
forget  herself,  during  the  first  and  second  day,  and  that 
happened  at  places  where  the  old  woman  had  not  stated 
that  she  was  deaf  and  dumb  ;  for  unless  questioned  she 
rarely  spoke  a  word.  Her  threats,  after  she  had  so  far 
forgotten  herself,  so  frightened  Little  Blue  Hood,  that  at 
last  she  never  opened  her  lips  to  utter  a  word,  unless  when 
the  old  woman  told  her  she  might  talk.  She  saw  number- 
less things  in  the  green  out-of-door  world  that  she  had 
never  seen  before,  and  wanted  to  know  all  about  them, 
but  her  pretty  lips  were  sealed,  and  she  dare  not  ask  a 
single  question.  The  cattle  lowed,  the  lambs  bleated,  the 
bees  hummed  among  the  wayside  flowers,  while  the  but- 
terflies flew  round  and  round  as  they  played  with  one 
another  ;  and  though  sometimes  she  could  not  help  pulling 
at  the  old  woman' s  cloak,  and  pointing  with  her  little  fin- 
ger for  her  to  look,  she  kept  her  promise,  and  never  spoke 
a  word. 

That  sweet  voice,  which,  to  her  mother' s  ear,  made  the 
most  delicious  music  that  ever  filled  it,  was  now  hushed 
through  awe  of  that  cruel  old  woman,  who  would  not 
allow  her  to  give  utterance  to  her  feelings  ;  but  dragged 


THE  SILENT  JOUKNEY.  51 

her  along  the  dusty  roads  in  silence,  and  so  wrapped  in 
her  own  thoughts  at  times,  that  however  weary,  hungry 
or  thirsty,  the  child  might  be,  she  paid  no  regard  to  her. 

Her  little  heart  would  have  broken  through  sorrow  at 
remaining  silent  so  long,  had  she  not  now  and  then  man- 
aged to  run  on  beyond  hearing  of  the  old  woman  after 
Trot,  and  talked  to  her  dog.  If  at  such  times  a  word  or 
two  caught  the  old  woman' s  ear,  she  said  nothing  ;  for  it 
was  only  in  lonesome  and  out-of-the-way  places  that  she 
allowed  Little  Blue  Hood  to  run  after  and  play  with  her 
dog ;  and  in  doing  this,  she  had  a  selfish  motive,  well  know- 
ing that  if  she  lessened  the  attachment  which  existed  on 
both  sides  between  the  child  and  dog,  they  would  not  be 
likely  to  perform  so  well  together. 

Though  the  child  had  a  brave  little  heart,  yet  there  were 
times,  when  she  danced  on  the  dry  white  highways  of  the 
village  streets,  that  the  dust,  raised  by  the  rapid  motion 
of  her  graceful  steps,  almost  choked  her,  and  made  even 
Trot  sneeze  again  ;  but  she  pressed  her  dear  lips  tightly 
together,  and  as  the  kind-hearted  village- women  seldom 
failed  in  offering  her  a  cup  of  milk,  she  drank,  and  tried 
to  forget  her  troubles. 

Often,  when  walking  beside  the  old  woman  in  silence, 
she  repeated  to  herself  the  pretty  prayers  and  little  hymns 
her  mother  and  her  nurse  had  taught  her  ;  and  as  she 
raised  her  blue  eyes  to  the  sky,  fancied,  at  times,  she  saw 
white-winged  angels  bending  over  her  in  the  forms  of  the 
silver  clouds,  and  those  seemed  to  be  her  great  Comforters. 

Sometimes  they  sat  down  and  ate  their  noonday  meal  in 
the  pleasant  hayfields,  where  the  wild  roses  were  blowing 
all  about  the  hedges,  and  the  golden-belted  bees  buried 
their  heads  in  the  crimson-streaked  flowers  of  the  wood- 


52  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

"bine,  while  near  at  hand  the  tall  scarlet  foxgloves  shot  up 
like  pillars  of  flame.  And  Little  Blue  Hood  would  gather 
trails  of  the  pink  convolvulus,  and  intermix  them  with 
the  "blue  cyanus  or  cornflower,  weaving  between  sprigs  of 
the  deeply-crimsoned  pimpernel,  and  so  making  a  wreath 
to  bind  about  her  hair,  in  which  she  would  dance  at  times, 
until  nearly  every  bloom  had  fallen  out  or  faded.  She  had 
a  fine  natural  taste  of  her  own  in  arranging  the  various 
colors  of  wild  flowers,  and  many  a  shilling  found  its  way 
into  the  old  woman's  pocket  when  the  child,  with  a  grace- 
ful courtesy,  presented  her  nosegays  to  the  ladies,  who  often 
expressed  their  delight  at  seeing  wild-flowers  arranged  so 
tastefully. 

Trot' s  greatest  delight  seemed  to  be  getting  into  a  field 
where  there  was  a  flock  of  sheep  and  lambs,  or  jumping 
into  a  pond  among  the  ducks  and  geese ;  and  however 
loud  the  old  woman  might  call,  or  however  fast  Little 
Blue  Hood  might  run,  he  wouldn't  comeback  until  he  had 
frightened  the  whole  flock  and  driven  them  into  a  corner, 
and  sent  the  ducks  and  geese  quacking  and  gabbling  and 
splashing  out  of  the  pond.  After  his  bath  he  would  give 
himself  a  good  shaking,  then  begin  to  dance  before  his 
pretty  mistress,  and  saying  as  well  as  he  could  in  his  bark- 
ing language,  "  Isn't  it  jolly  fun?  Didn't  you  see  how  I 
made  the  whole  lot  scuttle  off,  and  caused  that  leg  of  mut- 
ton to  leave  off  scratching  that  sheep' s  head  ?  I  thought 
a  run  would  do  you  good,  and  I  did  it  to  make  you  laugh, 
for  I  can't  make  it  out  at  all,  why  you  have  spoken  to  me 
so  seldom  lately  ?  If  you  don't  talk  to  me  oftener,  I'll  run 
up  to  the  first  bull  I  see,  and  try  to  lay  hold  of  him  by 
the  nose,  for  I  would  do  any  thing  to  hear  you  speak  a 
little  oftener  than  you  do." 


THE  SILENT  JOUKNEY.  53 

And  Trot  often  ran  off  a  great  distance,  not  taking  the 
slightest  notice  if  the  old  woman  called  to  him,  but  return- 
ing the  instant  he  heard  the  voice  of  Little  Blue  Hood,  as 
if  he  had  said  to  himself,  "That's  what  I  wanted,  that's 
what  I  ran  away  to  find,  and  now  I  found  it,  I'll  go  back 
again ;"  for  the  dog  acted  at  times  as  if  he  had  some  such 
thoughts  ;  and  when  he  went  so  far,  the  old  woman  was 
compelled  to  say  to  the  child,  "  Call  the  dog  back,' '  for 
fear  they  should  lose  him  ;  then  Little  Blue  Hood  would 
send  out  her  sweet  silvery  voice,  and  make  all  the  air 
ring  again. 

One  day,  as  they  sat  down  on  the  warm  turf  of  a  slo- 
ping upland  to  eat  their  dinner,  the  old  woman  said,  "You 
may  talk  now  as  much  as  you  like  while  we  stay  here, 
unless  you  see  some  one  coming  to  us." 

"  Oh !  I  am  so  glad,"  replied  Little  Blue  Hood ;  "  and 
am  sure  that  I  should  soon  love  you,  if  you  would  only 
let  me  talk  to  you,  and  tell  you  all  I  think  and  feel ;  for  I 
should  not  be  so  unhappy,  if  you  would  only  let  me  talk 
to  you." 

"  You  could  talk  about  nothing  that  would  at  all  interest 
me,"  answered  the  old  woman;  "I'm  sure  at  times  the 
birds  make  noise  enough,  and  I  often  wish  they  were  silent. 
I  wonder  what  they  find  to  make  such  a  noise  about?" 

"  I  often  fancy,  when  I  am  listening  to  them  attentively 
that  I  understand  what  they  say  to  one  another,"  replied 
Little  Blue  Hood,  giving  utterance  to  what  she  had  ima- 
gined at  times,  while  walking  in  silence  beside  the  old 
woman.  "That  one  calls  to  another  to  come  to  its  nest, 
and  see  how  clean  and  pretty  its  young  ones  look.  That 
this  one  has  just  opened  its  eyes,  and  that  one  has  begun 
to  peck,  while  another  is  so  strong  that  he  has  got  out  of 


54  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

the  nest  by  himself,  and  is  standing  on  a  branch  half  hidden 
by  the  leaves.  That  another  brings  food  in  its  pretty  beak, 
and  says,  '  While  you  are  eating  that,  I'll  sing  you  a  song  ;' 
and  I  often  wish  I  were  a  little  bird  ;  then  I  could  talk  as 
much  as  I  liked  to  my  companions  among  the  leaves,  in- 
stead of  being  silent  for  hours  together,  as  I  am  now. 
Why  do  you  wish  me  not  to  talk  ?" 

"Because  I  do  not  want  you  to  be  known,  lest  you  should 
be  taken  from  me,"  replied  the  wicked  old  woman,  though 
so  far  speaking  the  truth.  "Because,  if  I  lose  you,  I 
have  no  one  to  care  for  me,  since  my  son,  your  father,  is  so 
unkind  to  me.  Because,  people  believing  you  to  be  deaf 
and  dumb,  are  kinder  to  you,  and  also  to  me,  for  your 
sake.  If  you  wish  to  be  taken  from  me,  talk  ;  tell  people 
who  I  am,  and  all  I  have  done  ;  then  you  will  hear  them 
cry  shame  on  your  father,  while  they  pity  me.  Now, 
everybody  who  sees  you  loves  you  for  being  so  kind  to 
your  poor  old  grandmother,  and  for  doing  your  duty  to  her, 
as  you  are  doing." 

Little  Blue  Hood  thought  her  very  hardest  for  a  few 
moments,  for,  although  she  felt  there  was  something  wrong 
somewhere  in  what  the  old  woman  said,  she  had  never 
before  been  called  upon  to  reason  against  falsehood  and 
cunning,  and  was  for  some  moments  at  a  loss  to  know  how 
to  reply ;  at  last  she  said,  "But  is  it  not  very  wrong  to 
get  people  to  pity  us,  by  saying  I  am  deaf  and  dumb  when 
I  am  not?" 

"  I  do  not  say  you  were  born  so,"  replied  the  old  woman 
sharply.  "  Shall  I  tell  them  you  are  deaf  to  all  they  would 
say  against  me ;  and  dumb,  because  you  will  not  speak,  lest 
by  doing  so  you  might  injure  your  poor  old  grandmother  ? 
How  could  I  make  them  understand  me,  if  even  I  said  so  ?" 


THE  SILENT  JOUKNEY.  55 

Such  false  reasoning  was  beyond  the  reach  of  the  child. 
She  knew  what  the  old  woman  said  was  not  the  truth,  but 
was  unable  to  disentangle  the  web  and  get  at  the  falsehood  ; 
for,  in  her  truthful  innocence,  she  carried  a  light  to  search 
for  darkness.  "lam  deaf  and  dumb,"  she  reasoned  to 
herself,  "  to  do  good  for  grandmother :  if  I  seem  to  hear 
and  to  talk,  my  voice  may  be  known,  and  they  will  take 
me  away  ;  and  that,  she  says,  will  make  her  very  unhappy. 
She  is  old  and  poor,  and  I  will  stay  with  her,  and  do  all  I 
can  to  make  her  happy  ;  for  that  will  be  doing  my  duty." 

So,  listening  to  the  pleading  of  her  good  and  charitable 
heart,  Little  Blue  Hood  unconsciously  wandered  along  a 
false  path.  But  an  angel  trod  kindly  behind  her,  and 
though  the  track  of  the  pathway  she  traversed  was  bor- 
dering on  the  broad  way  of  Error,  it  still  led  heavenward, 
and  was  hardened  by  the  print  of  her  pretty  feet.  And 
there  are  many  narrow  Christian  paths  lying  as  close  to 
the  Waste  of  Error  worn  by  those  who  do  their  duty,  and 
faint  not  by  the  way — a  sad  journey  taken  by  loving  hearts 
— who  only  meet  with  their  reward  when  they  reach  the 
end,  and  who  never  turn  back  for  either  praise  or  blame. 

"  For  a  spirit  pure  as  hers, 
Is  pure  even  while  it  errs. 
As  sunshine  glancing  on  a  rill, 
Though  turned  aside,  is  sunshine  still." 

T.  MOOHB. 


56  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE    LOST    CLUE. 

T  ITTLE  Blue  Hood  and  her  dog  had  many  times  gone 
JU  through  their  performance  "before  those  who  were  sent 
out  in  search  of  her,  without  their  suspecting,  for  a  moment, 
that  they  had  but  to  put  out  their  arms  and  seize  the  treas- 
ure they  so  eagerly  sought.  No  doubt  the  fearlessness  of 
the  old  woman  prevented  suspicion,  as  she  sought  the 
most  public  thoroughfares,  and  if  there  was  a  crowd,  en- 
deavored to  pass  through  the  midst  of  it. 

Only  once  was  she  stopped  by  a  keen-eyed  Detective, 
and  asked  if  she  had  performed  before  such  a  mansion, 
meaning  that  where  the  child  last  saw  her  mother  ;  when 
she  replied  that  she  had  and  named  the  day  and  hour, 
hoping,  as  she  said,  they  wished  to  see  her  perform  again, 
and  telling  him  how  generously  they  had  rewarded  her. 

The  only  one  who  discovered  that  Little  Blue  Hood  was 
not  dark,  was  an  illiterate  countryman,  who  could  neither 
read  nor  write,  and  knew  nothing  about  the  reward  offered 
for  her  ;  though  it  was  posted  up  at  the  bar  of  the  village 
alehouse,  he  was  too  fond  of  frequenting.  "  See  that, 
Jack,"  he  said,  pointing  to  a  small  rent  in  the  child's  stock- 
ing, "  she's  got  as  white  a  skin  as  your  little  Sail."  His 
companion  saw  it,  and  thought  no  more  about  the  matter. 
The  old  woman's  sharp  eyes  also  saw  in  a  moment  what 
they  had  discovered,  and  was  careful  in  preventing  such, 
mishaps  afterwards. 

From  no  quarter  could  any  clue  be  obtained  that  was 


THE  LOST  CLUE.  57 

likely  to  lead  to  the  recovery  of  Little  Blue  Hood.  Only 
one  man  was  found  who  had  taken  particular  notice  of 
her  and  the  old  woman,  on  the  day  she  was  stolen.  This 
was  a  bricklayer's  laborer,  who  was  coming  out  of  a 
narrow  passage,  with  a  ladder  on  his  shoulder,  with  which 
he  was  very  near  running  against  the  child.  He  had  drawn 
"back,  and  waited  until  they  passed,  and  what  made  him 
notice  them  more  particularly,  was  the  courtesy  the  little 
girl  made  him  for  drawing  back. 

Even  his  description  of  the  dog  was  correct ;  but  on  the 
day  he  gave  his  evidence  to  a  Detective,  who  promised  to 
call  on  him  again  in  the  evening,  the  ladder  he  was  mount- 
ing with  a  hod  full  of  bricks  broke  from  under  him,  when 
he  fell  on  his  head,  and  had  ever  since  been  in  the  hospital, 
and  unable  to  answer  a  question  ;  and  there  was  but  little 
hope  of  his  ever  recovering. 

The  parents  of  Little  Blue  Hood  had,  more  than  once, 
driven  up  to  the  hospital  to  inquire  how  the  poor  patient 
was  getting  on ;  they  had  also  seen  the  head  physician, 
who  had  promised  to  do  all  that  could  be  done  towards 
his  recovery  :  but  he  still  remained  unconscious,  and  had 
nothing  happened  he  could  have  told  but  little  more  than 
he  made  known  to  the  police  officer.  The  carriage  was 
afterwards  driven  to  the  very  spot  where  the  poor  man 
had  seen  the  old  woman  and  child ;  and  the  heart  of  the 
fond  mother  sank  within  her,  as  she  glanced  at  the  neigh- 
borhood which  her  child  had  been  brought  into. 

"  Better  a  thousand  times,"  she  said  to  her  husband, 
bursting  into  tears,  "  that  she  were  dead,  and  that  I  knew 
where  she  was  laid  ;  for  that  would  be  some  solace  to  me, 
only  to  know  that  the  day  would  come  when  I  should 
lie  down  and  sleep  my  long  sleep  beside  her.  But  oh !  to 


58  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

think  that  she  may  be  concealed  in  some  of  these  crowded 
courts  and  unhealthy  alleys,  where  vice  seems  to  have 
made  its  home  ;  where  she  can  hear  nothing  that  is  good, 
and  only  be  taught  what  is  evil :  these  thoughts  are  worse 
than  death,  for  then  I  should  know  that  she  was  at  rest, 
and  look  with  hope  towards  that  eternal  home  beyond  the 
grave,  where  we  shall  at  last  meet  never  again  to  part." 

"Hope  is  a  great  comforter,"  replied  her  husband; 
"  and  whatever  the  woman  may  be  she  was  here  seen 
with,  I  have  such  faith  in  the  innocent  and  winning  ways 
of  our  dear  child,  as  to  believe  that  no  one,  unless  utterly 
dead  to  all  that  forms  the  true  nature  of  woman,  will  ever 
treat  her  unkindly.  Heaven  ordains  all  things  for  our 
good ;  and,  whatever  the  ordeal  may  be  that  she  has  to 
pass  through,  it  is  my  faith  that  she  will  come  out  of  it 
spotless  and  purified,  and  that  we  shall  be  spared  to  bless 
the  day  that  doomed  her  to  these  trials."  His  voice  trem- 
bled, and  his  lip  quivered  as  he  spoke,  telling  that  he  felt 
her  loss  as  much  as  his  lady  did,  although  he  shed  no 
tears. 

Little  did  they  think  that  their  darling  was  then  trailing 
with  weary  feet  along  the  brown,  barren  highways  of 
Surrey,  compelled  to  remain  silent  through  the  cunning 
of  a  selfish  old  woman,  who  trusted  to  the  affectionate 
nature  of  the  child,  and  her  sense  of  duty,  for  retaining 
the  strong  hold  she  already  had  of  her.  True,  there  were 
moments  when  that  lady  thought,  that  if  ever  it  should  be 
the  will  of  Providence  to  restore  her  child,  she  would  be 
changed  into  some  poor  ragged  outcast,  who  had  herded 
with  the  very  poor,  picked  up  much  of  their  language  and 
habits,  and  so  unlike  the  dear  Little  Blue  Hood  she  had 
lost,  that  she  almost  dreaded  to  think  what  her  feelings 


THE  LOST  CLUE.  59 

would  be  if  she  ever  met  with,  her  after  such  a  change  had 
taken  place.  Then  she  prayed  to  Ibe  delivered  from  such 
thoughts,  and  better  feelings  came ;  in  which  her  heart 
told  her  that,  whatever  the  condition  of  the  child  might 
be,  she  would  be  dearer  to  her  through  having  suffered ; 
that  however  beautiful  her  flower  might  have  been  at  its 
opening,  she  could  not  hope  it  would  escape  all  the  bitter 
blasts  to  which  it  must  be  exposed — transplanted  to  such 
a  neighborhood  as  she  had  visited — uninjured. 

Money  had  been  scattered  with  a  free  hand,  in  every 
direction,  where  there  seemed  to  be  the  remotest  chance  of 
recovering  the  lost  child  ;  but  all  was  useless  ; — for,  while 
those  who  were  paid  were  searching  for  her  in  the  great 
network  of  streets  and  squares,  courts  and  alleys,  that 
make  up  wide- spreading  London,  she  was  walking  forth 
in  the  open  noon  of  day  on  the  highways  that  stretch  out 
among  the  suburbs. 

Many  an  eye  had  looked  on  the  performance  of  Little 
Blue  Hood  that  would  have  brightened  with  joy,  and 
sought  no  other  reward  than  the  happiness  of  restoring 
her  to  her  parents.  Who,  under  that  dark-stained  skin 
would  look  for  the  little  mole  on  her  pretty  shoulder, 
which,  in  her  playful  moods,  her  dear  mother,  while  kiss- 
ing and  fondling  her,  had  often  called  a  little  strawberry, 
and  pretended  to  want  to  bite  it  off;  while  Little  Blue 
Hood  had  screamed  with  delight  and  laughter,  as  she  laid 
her  sweet  face  on  her  mother' s  neck,  overhung  by  her 
long  silky  tresses  ? 

And  often  the  child  thought  of  all  that  love,  and  all  that 
fond  play,  and  all  those  warm  tender  kisses,  which  were 
showered  on  her  every  hour  of  the  day,  as  she  dragged 
her  weary  feet  along  the  dusty  roads,  with  Trot  sticking 


60  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

close  to  her  side,  and  often  looked  up  strangely  at  her  sad 
face,  as  if  he  too  remembered  the  happy  days  they  had 
passed  together. 

And  that  voice  !  No  argument  used  by  her  husband, 
or  her  friends,  was  able  to  convince  her  that  she  had  not 
heard  her  daughter  call  to  her,  when  the  carriage  slack- 
ened its  pace,  beside  the  little  wood.  The  Detective  called 
— had  an  interview  with  her — described  the  old  woman 
and  child ;  giving  also  a  minute  description  of  the  dog, 
and  offering  to  produce  all  three  any  day  her  Ladyship 
might  be  pleased  to  appoint. 

No ;  she  did  not  for  a  moment  believe  that  the  little 
dark  dancing  girl  was  her  daughter ;  that  thought  she  had 
entirely  dismissed  from  her  mind.  But  the  voice  !  No 
power  upon  earth  could  convince  her  that  she  had  not 
heard  her  daughter  call  to  her.  And  there  were  times 
when  she  thought  that  voice  was  still  sounding  in  her  ears 
as  it  went  winging  its  way  to  heaven,  and  that  at  the  time 
she  fancied  she  heard  it,  her  child  was  dying — for  grief 
leaves  strange  impressions  on  the  mind,  and  the  cry  of 
"mother,"  in  that  out-of-the-way  place,  was  one  of  those 
mysteries  which  none  of  her  friends  could  unravel. 


CHAPTER  XIY. 

THE     HOVEL. 


'"If"  ANY  long  weeks  had  by  this  time  passed  away,  and 
JjJL  the  green  of  Summer  had  faded  into  the  solemn  gold  of 
Autumn,  when  the  old  woman  and  Little  Blue  Hood  were 
on  their  way  back  to  London,  having  only  twice  visited 


THE  HOVEL.  61 

the  old  house  in  the  Borough  since  the  day  the  child  saw 
her  mother  in  the  carriage. 

The  old  woman  was  the  first  to  suffer  from  the  fatigue 
to  which  she  had  so  long  exposed  the  child,  while  Little 
Blue  Hood  seemed  to  grow  stronger  every  day  ;  for  the 
fresh  air  and  the  sweet  sunshine  fell  like  blessings  upon 
her,  and  she  was  much  healthier  than  she  ever  would  have 
"been  had  she  remained  with  her  dear  mother. 

There  was  no  need  to  stain  her  pretty  face  and  neck 
now,  so  tawny  had  the  summer  sun  made  her,  that  she 
was  as  brown  as  a  little  gypsy.  She  could  walk  more 
miles  a  day  than  the  old  woman,  and  was  at  times  quite 
happy  and  light-hearted,  as  she  was  now  allowed  to  talk 
whenever  she  pleased,  excepting  in  the  presence  of  stran 
gers. 

As  for  Trot,  he  had  grown  quite  fat,  and  was  almost  too 
lazy  to  dance  :  two  or  three  steps  on  his  hinder  legs  were 
all  he  could  "be  persuaded  to  do,  when  down  he  went  on 
all  fours  again,  for  almost  everybody  they  came  near  had 
fed  him ;  and,  on  more  than  one  occasion,  his  little  mis 
tress  had  been  compelled  to  lay  him  on  his  back  and  roll 
him,  for  fear  he  should  burst  his  skin  ;  for  the  little  glut- 
ton had  eaten  till  it  was  quite  tight. 

As  for  the  old  woman,  the  avenger  seemed  now  to  be 
treading  hard  on  her  heels,  as  if  demanding  retribution 
for  the  injury  she  had  inflicted  on  that  mother  and  child. 
She  now  suffered  through  a  deep  cough,  which  made  her 
shake  in  her  old  shoes  every  time  it  came  on,  and  pre- 
vented her  from  walking  again  until  it  was  over.  And, 
often  after  it  had  passed  away,  she  was  compelled  to  sit 
down  anywhere  until  she  recovered. 

It  made  the  tender  heart  of  Little  Blue  Hood  ache  again. 


62     \  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

to  see  her  in  so  much  pain ;  and  she  would  sit  beside  her 
— take  hold  of  her  hand,  looking  pitifully  into  her  old, 
hard,  cruel,  wrinkled  face — while  inquiring  if  she  felt 
"better. 

It  had  been  raining  hard  for  above  an  hour,  when  one 
evening  the  old  woman' s  fit  of  coughing  was  worse  than 
it  had  ever  been  before,  and  she  sank  down  by  the  road- 
side, saying  that  she  could  walk  no  further,  though  it  was 
above  two  miles  to  the  cottage  where  she  had  made 
arrangements  to  lodge  for  the  night,  having  stayed  there 
before  several  times. 

The  rain  increased,  and  the  evening  shadows  began  to 
deepen,  and  even  the  Autumn  noise  of  brooks  in  the 
neighboring  wood  became  hushed  ;  but  the  old  woman 
was  unable  to  walk  more  than  a  few  yards,  leaning  her 
hand  heavily  on  the  willing  shoulder  of  the  child ;  and 
there  was  no  house  nearer  than  the  roadside  cottage, 
where  they  intended  to  sleep. 

Faster  came  down  the  rain,  which  the  wind,  now  blow- 
ing a  gale,  beat  into  their  faces,  and  the  trees  roared  again 
as  they  lashed  their  branches  together,  while  the  gray 
leaden-colored  sky  hung  so  low  that  it  seemed  to  touch  the 
topmost  boughs  of  the  trees. 

"Let  me  lie  down  and  die  here,"  said  the  old  woman, 
sitting  on  the  bank  by  the  woodside.  "I  can  walk  no 
further.  Oh,  what  a  lonely  place  this  is  to  die  in  !" 

It  was  indeed  lonesome,  and  was  seldom  traversed  ex- 
cepting on  a  market  day,  when  the  villagers  went  to  the 
little  town  which  the  old  woman  and  child  had  left  that 
morning  ;  for  being  a  branch  road,  there  was  scarcely  any 
traffic  on  it  at  any  other  time. 

"  Oh  !  what  shall  we  do  ?"  exclaimed  Little  Blue  Hood, 


THE  HOVEL.  63 

clasping  her  hands  together,  and  never  thinking  of  herself, 
although  she  was  wet  to  the  skin.  "If,  after  you  have 
rested  a  bit,  you  could  walk  a  little  further,  only  to  the 
next  field  where  that  white  gate  is,  there  is  such  a  nice 
shed  there,  where  we  saw  the  pretty  calves,  and  you  laid 
down  and  went  to  sleep  on  the  clean  straw  when  it  was 
so  hot.  Oh  !  do  try  to  pray  for  God  to  send  one  of  Hi  a 
angels  to  help  you  to  walk,  for  it  is  but  a  little  way,  and  I 
always  found  He  sent  an  angel  to  help  me  when  I  was  in 
trouble  and  prayed  to  Him." 

"I  will  try,"  said  the  old  woman,  rising  with  difficulty 
and  walking  in  great  pain.  "  But  do  not  ask  me  to  pray  ; 
I  don't  know  how.  I  am  too  wicked  to  pray.  Rest,  rest 
is  all  I  need ;  lead  me  on  and  let  me  lie  down." 

Although  not  more  than  a  hundred  yards  off,  they  were 
a  long  time  reaching  the  gate,  which  was  easily  undone, 
as  it  was  only  fastened  by  a  staple,  hasp,  and  iron  pin  ; 
and  as  there  were  only  a  cow  and  her  calf  inside,  with 
plenty  of  dry  litter,  a  bed,  such  as  it  was,  was  soon  made 
up  in  one  corner  of  the  cowshed,  and  on  it  the  old  woman 
lay  down.  A  few  weeks  earlier,  and  the  hovel  would  not 
have  afforded  them  such  comfort ;  for  it  was  fortunately 
that  turning  of  the  season,  when  the  fields,  though  yield- 
ing but  scanty  pasturage,  are  not  bare  enough  to  require 
cattle  to  be  driven  into  the  strawyard,  but  with  a  little 
fodder  placed  in  the  shed  at  night,  allows  them  to  remain 
out  in  the  daytime,  to  pick  up  what  little  remains  of  the 
after-math  of  grass.  The  cow  was  a  quiet  meek-eyed 
animal,  and  allowed  herself  to  be  moved  out  of  her  warm 
place,  without  showing  the  least  sign  of  anger  ;  while  the 
calf  began  licking  the  hand  of  Little  Blue  Hood  as  she 
stroked  its  head,  as  if  it  knew  that  she  would  do  it  no 


64  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

harm.  Trot  rolled  himself  up  into  the  smallest  possible 
space  in  the  far  corner,  as  if  he  knew  that  the  best  thing 
he  could  do  under  all  circumstances  was  to  get  out  of  the 
way,  and  go  to  sleep  as  soon  as  he  could.  Sometimes  he 
raised  his  old-fashioned  head  above  the  straw,  when  he 
heard  the  old  woman  moaning  in  her  pain,  but  it  was  down 
again  in  an  instant,  as  if  he  said  to  himself,  "Oh!  it's 
only  her ;  I  don't  care  for  her ;  I  was  afraid  it  was  my 
little  mistress." 

"lam  so  cold,"  said  the  old  woman  in  a  faint  voice, 
what  few  teeth  she  had  left,  chattering  again  in  her  old 
gums,  "that  I  feel  as  if  I  should  die  unless  I  have  some- 
thing to  warm  me.  Feel  in  the  large  cloak  pocket,  and 

you'll  find ."     But  she  was  too  exhausted  to  say  any 

more,  and  again  sank  with  her  head  on  the  straw  which 
the  child  had  also  heaped  plentifully  over  her.  She  ex- 
amined the  large  cloak  pocket,  and  found  a  little  wicker- 
covered  flask  of  brandy,  a  box  of  matches,  some  tea  and 
sugar  screwed  up  in  separate  papers,  beside  other  things. 
She  then  opened  the  little  basket  in  which  the  old  woman 
carried  their  provisions,  and  took  out  a  tin  can  which 
they  often  used  for  milk,  getting  it  warm  as  it  came  from 
the  cow,  when  they  found  anybody  milking  in  the  fields. 
Little  Blue  Hood  had  seen  the  old  woman  light  a  fire,  and 
boil  water  in  the  can,  and  finding  a  couple  of  loose  bricks, 
she  placed  them  edgeways  near  the  door,  where  she  clear- 
ed a  space  of  ground,  removing  every  morsel  of  litter  that 
was  likely  to  catch  fire  and  spread  over  the  shed  ;  and 
this  done  she  pulled  to  pieces  an  old  dry  worn-out  birch 
besom,  which  had  been  thrown  into  a  corner,  and  soon 
kindled  a  fire  under  the  can,  having  filled  it  with  water 
from  a  tub  that  stood  outside  the  shed.  When  the  water 


THE  HOVEL.  65 

boiled  she  put  in  some  tea,  which  she  let  stand  over  the 
fire  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then  carefully  took  out  every 
leaf  with  the  spoon,  and  having  put  in  some  sugar  and  a 
little  brandy,  she  made  a  tray  of  an  old  milk-can  lid 
which  she  found  on  the  floor,  and  then  took  the  refreshing 
beverage  to  the  old  woman,  who  sat  up,  and  as  it  was  so 
hot,  sipped  it  with  the  spoon  as  well  as  she  could. 

The  kindness  of  Little  Blue  Hood  pierced  the  old 
woman's  heart  deeper  than  any  thing  before  had  ever 
done,  for  she  felt  that  she  must  have  died — as  the  cold  was 
gradually  creeping  all  over  her— had  it  riot  been  for  the 
child ;  and  her  guilty  conscience  stung  her,  like  a  serpent, 
when  her  little  benefactress  took  up  the  spoon  and  gave 
her  the  drink,  for  her  withered  hand  shook  so,  she  could 
not  help  herself  without  spilling  it,  after  she  had  taken 
the  first  two  or  three  spoonfuls. 

"Oh!  I  am  unworthy  of  this  kindness,"  said  the  old 
woman,  again  lying  down  ;  ' '  and  it  is  more  pain  to  me  to 
receive  it  from  your  hands  than  the  pangs  I  otherwise 
suffer.  If  you  knew  all,  you  would  hate  me,  and  wish 
I  were  dead — dead." 

"I  could  never  have  so  wicked  a  thought,"  said  Little 
Blue  Hood,  "  as  to  wish  my  grandmother  dead" — the  old 
woman  groaned  again — "and  if  my  being  so  near  to  you 
makes  you  feel  unhappy,  I  will  go  into  the  corner  with 
Trot,  where  it  is  growing  dark,  and  wait  there  without 
speaking  a  word,  until  you  call  me.  I  will  do  any  thing 
I  can  to  help  to  make  you  better.  Do  not  say  it  pains 
you  to  see  me  do  things  for  you ;  I  am  but  a  little  girl, 
and  shall  know  how  to  attend  on  you  better  than  I  do 
now,  when  I  grow  bigger." 

"  It  is  not  that.  You  cannot  know  what  it  is  that  pains 
me  so,"  said  the  old  woman  grasping  the  straw  in  her 
5 


66  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

hands,  as  she  writhed  under  an  accusing  conscience. 
"No  one  can  do  things  better  than  you;  nobody  was 
ever  so  kind  to  me  before  as  you  are,  and  bore  so  long 
with  me  with  patience.  I  do  not  know  what  I  should  do 
without  you  now.  Now  make  yourself  some  tea,  and  dry 
your  little  feet ;  then  come  and  lie  down  beside  me :  I 
am  warm  now,  and  feel  a  little  better,  and  think  T  can 
sleep." 

Little  Blue  Hood  did  as  the  old  woman  bade  her  ;  mov- 
ing about  almost  as  noiselessly  as  a  shadow,  for  fear  of 
disturbing  the  old  woman,  and  only  putting  a  bit  or  two 
of  stick  on  the  fire  at  a  time,  lest  the  crackling  of  the 
fuel  might  awake  her.  There  was  plenty  of  provisions  in 
the  basket,  and  Trot,  well  knowing  what  was  going  on, 
soon  came  out  of  his  hiding-place,  and  began  to  beg ;  and 
after  she  had  fed  her  dog,  and  had  her  tea,  and  dried  her 
feet,  and  given  another  cupful  to  the  old  woman,  she 
knelt  down  upon  the  straw  to  say  her  prayers. 

With  clasped  hands  and  upraised  face,  she  closed  her 
pretty  blue  eyes,  and  prayed  to  the  Lord  to  make  the  old 
woman  better,  and  cause  her  to  pray  also.  Prayed  that  she 
might  do  her  duty,  and  think  of  doing  good  to  others, 
more  than  of  herself.  And  Trot  sat  motionless  beside  her, 
and  never  stirred  until  she  arose  from  kneeling,  when  he 
jumped  under  the  straw,  and  laid  down  beside  her,  coil- 
ing himself  up  under  her  arm.  Night  darkened  over  the 
lowly  cowshed,  which  the  breath  of  the  cattle  made 
warm ;  and  excepting  having  to  get  up  once  or  twice  to 
attend  on  the  old  woman,  Little  Blue  Hood  rested  as 
quietly,  and  slept  as  soundly  as  if  she  had  lain  on  a  bed 
of  the  softest  down. 


THE  COTTAGE.  67 

CHAPTER  XV. 

THE     COTTAGE. 

rpHOUGH  the  old  woman  was  too  weak,  on  the  follow- 
X  ing  morning,  to  walk  so  far  as  the  pretty  little  road- 
side  cottage,  at  which  they  had  beforetime  lodged,  she, 
after  much  persuasion,  allowed  the  child  to  go  by  herself, 
and  get  Nanny  to  hire  any  kind  of  a  conveyance  that 
could  be  got  from  the  neighboring  village,  to  carry  her 
from  the  hovel. 

Nanny,  the  owner  of  the  cottage,  was  a  clean  little  old 
woman,  with  hair  of  that  yellowish  white  that  looks  so 
much  like  raw  silk,  instead  of  the  silvery-gray  oftener 
seen.  Her  cottage,  which  was  her  own  little  freehold, 
stood  by  itself,  and  was  full  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
the  village,  and,  excepting  when  she  happened  to  have 
lodgers,  she  lived  there  all  alone,  as  she  had  done  for 
above  forty  long  years. 

Little  Blue  Hood  ]iked  old  Nanny  and  her  cottage 
better  than  anybody,  or  any  place  she  had  stayed  at  since 
she  was  stolen  from  her  own  dear  home ;  for  she  had  been 
allowed  to  say  what  she  liked,  and  do  what  she  pleased, 
while  there. 

It  was  a  beautiful  morning  after  the  rain,  and  the  child 
quite  enjoyed  the  walk,  with  Trot  barking  and  bounding 
beside  her,  and  would  have  been  very  happy  but  for  the 
thought  of  the  old  woman  being  so  ill.  The  cottage  was 
buried  in  trees,  and  covered  with  ivy,  which  reached 
to  the  very  tops  of  the  chimneys  ;  while  on  the  thatched 
roof  grew  stone-crop,  and  no  end  of  moss  and  lichen- 
green,  golden,  and  grav :  and  when  the  sun  shone  be 


68  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

tween  the  steins  of  the  trees  on  the  clean  windows,  making 
them  glitter  like  gold,  and  throwing  a  network  of  shad- 
ows on  the  floor  from  the  overhanging  sprays,  it  looked 
one  of  the  prettiest  places  the  eye  ever  dwelt  upon,  ex- 
cepting in  a  picture. 

The  old  woman  was  in  her  garden  tying  up  the  chrysan- 
themums and  dahlias,  which  the  wind  and  rain  overnight 
had  beaten  down,  and  no  sooner  did  she  hear  the  sound 
of  approaching  footsteps,  than  she  raised  herself  from  her 
stooping  position,  and,  looking  over  the  low  hedge 
through  her  spectacles,  she  said,  "Heart  alive!  I 
thought  I  knew  the  sound  of  thy  little  footsteps ;  and 
why  didn't  you  come  last  night?  and  where  is  your 
grandmother?" 

The  child  told  her  how  she  had  left  the  old  woman  ill 
in  the  cowshed,  where  they  had  passed  the  night,  and 
that  she  was  to  go  to  the  village  and  get  some  kind  of 
conveyance  to  bring  her  to  the  cottage,  and  was  not  to 
mind  the  expense. 

"  Poor  old  woman  !  pretty  dear  child  !  come  inside,  and 
let  me  make  you  a  nice  breakfast,  while  I  go  and  get 
William,  the  old  carrier,  to  come  with  his  cart.  It  is  one 
of  his  off-days  ;  if  it  wasn't,  I  don't  know  where  I  could 
get  a  conveyance  for  her  either  for  love  or  money  ; 
unless  it  was  Farmer  Clay' s  great  wagon,  and  his  four  fat 
horses.  Sleeping  in  a  cowshed !  and  such  a  night 
as  it  was.  She  may  well  be  ill :  and  I  wonder  both 
of  you  haven't  caught  your  deaths  of  cold." 

But  Little  Blue  Hood  would  neither  stay  to  have  her 
breakfast,  nor  wait  to  ride  back  in  the  old  carrier' s  cart, 
as  she  knew  the  old  woman  was  too  ill  to  be  left  alone  ; 
so  having  delivered  her  message,  and  made  Nanny  under- 


THE  COTTAGE.  69 

stand  where  the  hovel  was,  she  hurried  "back,  saying,  "  I 
shall  be  standing  at  the  gate,  watching  for  him,  and  he 
will  "be  sure  to  see  me." 

Trot,  however,  had  a  good  breakfast  of  "bread  and 
milk,  before  he  went  back ;  beside  a  plate  of  scraps, 
which  Nanny  had  saved  up  for  him;  and  he  didn't 
seem  at  all  in  any  hurry  to  leave  after  having  finished 
his  meal. 

Old  Nanny  never  did  things  by  halves ;  for,  when  the 
carrier  stopped  before  her  cottage  with  his  cart,  she 
placed  an  old  coverlet  on  the  bottom,  laying  on  it  one 
of  her  beds,  with  a  pillow;  and,  as  she  said,  "Every 
thing  to  make  the  old  grandmother  comfortable  ;"  and, 
when  all  was  done,  she  locked  her  door,  and  rode  with 
him  in  the  cart.  It  was  well  she  went ;  for  the  old  woman 
was  so  stiff  in  her  joints,  that  she  was  unable  to  walk, 
and  thankful  she  was  when  she  reached  Nanny' s  cottage, 
and  was  put  into  her  nice  clean  bed ;  for  the  old  woman 
liked  cleanliness. 

And  there  Little  Blue  Hood  nursed  her,  running  up  and 
down  stairs  a  hundred  times  a  day,  to  fetch  and  carry 
away  every  thing  she  wanted,  and  never  seeming  to  think 
that  she  had  done  enough. 

And  now  a  strange  change  came  over  the  old  woman, 
and  she  seemed  to  feel  as  if  her  very  life  depended  on 
her  retaining  the  child.  It  was  no  longer  the  sordid 
feeling  of  keeping  her  because  of  the  money  she  brought 
in  by  her  dancing,  but  a  consciousness  that,  in  all  her 
long  life,  she  had  never  met  with  anybody  who  had 
shown  for  her  such  affection,  served  her  so  faithfully,  and 
studied  her  every  wish. 

That  she  had  in  every  instance  returned  good  for  evil, 


70  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

never  betrayed  her  by  word  or  deed,  and  now  that  she 
was  ill  and  helpless,  attended  to  her  every  want,  and 
administered  to  her  with  so  gentle  a  hand,  that  there  were 
times  when — had  she  been  strong  enough — she  could 
have  got  out  of  bed,  thrown  herself  at  the  feet  of  Lit- 
tle Blue  Hood,  and  while  she  knelt,  asking  for  forgive- 
ness, told  her  all  she  had  done.  But  her  wicked  and 
selfish  nature  still  reigned  uppermost,  and  when  she  re- 
solved at  times  to  tell  her  all — to  confess  that  she  was  in 
no  way  related  to  her,  that  she  had  carried  her  away  from 
her  dear  mother  and  her  happy  home,  to  feed  an  imagi- 
nary vengeance — not  but  what  she  believed  the  child' s 
father  had  injured  her — the  fear  of  losing  her  forever 
prevailed  over  these  weak  resolutions,  and  made  her 
feel  that  without  Little  Blue  Hood,  her  life  would  be 
miserable. 

Strong  in  her  love  as  in  her  hatred,  she  now,  instead 
of  using  threats,  as  she  had  done  at  first  to  retain  her, 
showed  her  the  greatest  affection  that  a  heart  so  selfish 
as  hers  was  capable  of  entertaining  for  any  thing,  except- 
ing herself.  But,  amid  all  this  fondness  for  the  child, 
she  never  once  thought  of  restoring  her  to  her  parents ; 
neither  did  Little  Blue  Hood,  while  the  old  woman  was 
so  ill,  ever  express  a  wish  to  return  to  her  dear  mother, 
though  her  little  heart  often  yearned  towards  home ; 
for,  she  said  to  herself,  "It  would  be  wicked  to  wish 
to  leave  her  now  she  is  so  ill ;  and  though  Nanny  is 
very  kind,  she  likes  nobody  to  wait  on  her  but  me. 
Oh,  how  I  wish  dear  mother  was  here  to  help  to  make 
her  well,  then  take  her  home  with  us." 

Strange,  that  instead  of  looking  at  the  injury  she  had 
inflicted  on  the  child  and  her  parents,  and  feeling  only 


THE  COTTAGE.  71 

the  deepest  remorse  for  what  she  had  done ;  she  tried  to 
find  consolation  in  the  thought  that  she  had  never  starved 
or  beaten  her,  and  that,  however  she  might  have  disliked 
her  at  first,  she  now  loved  her  ;  and  she  mistook  this 
selfish  fondness  for  the  child  for  repentance.  But,  stran- 
ger than  all,  she  now  liked  to  hear  the  dear  child  say 
her  prayers  ;  and  often  asked  her  to  pray  for  her,  that 
she  might  be  forgiven. 

And,  in  her  simple  way,  Little  Blue  Hood  offered  up 
her  prayers  from  lips  as  pure,  and  a  heart  as  innocent, 
as  ever  supplicated  the  Throne  of  Mercy  for  forgiveness. 
The  old  woman  also  became  so  resigned  at  last,  that  she 
could  bear  to  hear  the  child  pray  to  God  to  bless  and 
protect  her  dear  mother  and  father,  without  groaning, 
as  she  did  at  first,  when,  with  folded  hands,  and  closed 
eyes,  Little  Blue  Hood  knelt  beside  her. 

Her  wicked  hard  heart  was  touched  at  last,  although  it 
was  but  slightly ;  for,  as  the  slow-falling  drop  at  length 
wears  away  granite,  so  had  the  unceasing  kindness  of  the 
child  worn  away  every  feeling  of  dislike  the  old  woman 
once  had  towards  her. 

" I  do  not  know  how  it  is,"  said  the  old  woman,  "but 
when  you  are  praying,  or  reading  out  of  that  Holy  Book, 
which  I  scarcely  ever  looked  into  during  all  the  years  I 
have  lived,  the_  evil  faces  that  sometimes  haunt  me  seem 
afraid,  and  go  away  ;  and  while  I  can  keep  all  wicked 
thoughts  from  my  mind,  and  pray  to  myself  to  be  for- 
given, all  the  wrong  I  have  done,  there  are  moments 
when  I  seem  to  feel  happier  than  ever  I  have  felt  so  far 
back  as  I  can  remember." 

"I  have  often  heard  the  good  clergyman  that  used  to 
visit  my  dear  mother,  and  take  me  on  his  knee  and  teach 


72  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

me  to  read,  say,  '  that  prayer  was  the  bridge  that  span- 
ned from  earth  to  heaven;'  and  when  I  have  looked 
at  the  rainbow,  have  thought  what  a  beautiful  bridge  it 
would  be  to  walk  over,  and  to  see  the  angels  waiting  to 
receive  me  on  the  other  side  ;  and  then,  to  hear  the  music 
of  heaven  sounding,  and  to  walk,  holding  my  mother' s 
hand,  in  a  land  of  flowers,  where  it  is  always  summer, 
and  no  night  ever  conies  to  make  the  blossoms  shut 
up." 

The  child  raised  her  dear  blue  eyes  as  she  ceased 
speaking,  and,  as  the  sunshine  fell  around  her,  it  threw 
streaks  of  gold  upon  her  hair  which,  here  and  there, 
showed  portions  of  its  rich  natural  color  through  the 
dye,  that  was  slowly  wearing  off. 

"  You  are  pure  and  innocent,  and  have  no  sin  weighing 
you  down  like  a  mountain,"  said  the  old  woman,  clasp- 
ing her  wrinkled  hands,  and  moving  them  up  and  down, 
as  she  closed  her  eyes  ;  "while  I — while  I—  Then  tears 
checked  her  utterance  ;  they  were  the  first  she  had  shed 
for  her  sins.  The  rock  was  smitten  at  last,  by  an  Invisi- 
ble hand,  and  though  the  stream  that  trickled  out  was 
very  feeble,  it  was  a  Healing  Water  that  flowed.  She 
then  added,  "  I  can  never  hope  to  be  forgiven  for  the  in- 
jury I  have  done  to  you  and  yours,  and  which  you  will 
know  all  about  one  day,  before  I  die." 

"Whatever  it  may  be,"  replied  Little  Blue  Hood, 
"it  will  be  as  nothing  to  what  Our  Saviour  suffered  to 
save  such  as  you  and  me.  They  scourged  Him,  and 
nailed  Him  to  the  cruel  cross,  yet  He  forgave  them  what 
they  did." 

"That  is  true,  for  it  is  written  in  the  Holy  Book," 
said  the  old  woman,  as  if  speaking  to  herself.  "But 


THE    COTTAGE.  73 

I  ?  what  have  I  not  done  ?  To  me,  until  now,  revenge  ever 
seemed  sweeter  than  forgiveness.  It  is  you  that  have 
taught  me  to  forgive.  To  return  injury  for  injury,  and 
too  often  evil  for  good,  was  the  feeling  that  sprung  up, 
like  rank  weeds,  from  my  sinful  nature.  In  my  blind- 
ness, I  called  revenge  justice,  and  believed  that  wrong 
for  wrong  was  fulfilling  a  right  law ;  for  I  had  seen 
that  law  demand  life  for  life,  and  stood  under  the  gallows 
until  it  had  gorged  its  fill,  and  was  satisfied.  But  I  feel 
that  while  you  remain  with  me,  I  can  never  be  what  I 
once  was  any  more." 

Then  the  old  woman  would  fall  asleep,  and  sometimes 
while  she  slept,  her  lips  would  move,  as  if  in  prayer. 
At  others,  she  would  awake  with  a  sudden  start,  and  a  cry 
ringing  in  her  ears  of  "My  child!  my  child  !"  seeming 
to  be  the  same  voice  that  she  heard  beside  the  wood, 
shrieking  for  Little  Blue  Hood,  while  she  was  dragging  her 
through  the  sharp  thorns  and  briers  of  the  entangled  un- 
derwood. Then  she  would  pray  again  to  be  forgiven, 
though  her  conscience  told  her  all  the  while,  that  the  true 
work  of  repentance  would  never  begin  aright,  until  she 
restored  that  dear  child  to  her  sorrowful  parents.  Then  she 
deceived  herself,  by  trying  to  believe  that  Little  Blue 
Hood  had  been  sent  to  her  by  an  All-wise  Providence,  to 
make  her  repent  of  her  evil  ways ;  and  so  tried  to  stifle 
"the  still  small  voice." 


74  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    STREET-HAWKERS. 

np  HE  fresh  air  that  blew  through  every  window  of  the 
JL  cottage,  the  kind  attention  of  Nanny  in  preparing 
every  thing  that  she  thought  would  do  her  good,  and,  above 
all,  the  incessant  attention  and  careful  nursing  of  Little 
Blue  Hood,  soon  restored  the  old  woman,  though  she 
never  again  enjoyed  her  usual  health. 

True  to  her  old  habits,  she  no  sooner  found  herself  well 
enough,  than  she  pined  to  return  to  her  native  London  air  ; 
for  the  child  had  given  her  solemn  promise  that  she  would 
never  leave  her  until  she  wished  her  to  do  so,  and  she 
knew  that  Little  Blue  Hood  would  sooner  die  than  utter 
a  wilful  falsehood.  "  I  like  to  see  the  shop-windows,  and 
to  walk  through  the  crowded  streets,  and  hear  the  hum 
and  noise  of  the  people,"  said  the  old  woman  to  Nanny  ; 
"the  very  stillness  that  you  are  so  fond  of,  and  that  no 
noise  ever  breaks,  would  soon  be  the  death  of  me,  though 
the  child  seems  as  fond  of  it  as  you  are." 

"  Bring  her  to  stay  a  month  or  two  with  me  next  sum- 
mer," said  Nanny,  kissing  the  dear  child  before  they 
departed;  "it  shall  cost  you  nothing  ;  and  remember,  if 
any  thing  is  likely  to  happen  to  yourself,  send  for  me,  and 
I'll  set  off  the  very  hour  I  receive  your  letter  ;  and  if  you 
wish  it,  the  pretty  darling  shall  have  a  home  with  me  as 
long  as  I  live  ;  and  when  it  pleases  God  to  call  me  away, 
I'll  leave  it  to  her,  and  a  little  something  else  beside." 
And  she  dried  her  tears  on  her  apron,  after  she  had  un- 
clasped her  arms  from  the  child' s  neck. 


THE  STEEET-HAWKEES.  75 

The  old  woman  made  a  kind  of  half  promise,  which  she 
hardly  wished  to  fulfil ;  for  she  was  jealous  of  the  affec- 
tion Nanny  showed  for  Little  Blue  Hood.  When  she 
reached  the  old  Borough,  she  had  her  goods  removed  to 
the  house  of  the  little  widow,  who  had  "been  her  servant 
in  former  years,  and  up  to  the  time  Edith' s  father  threw 
up  his  brief,  and  refused  to  proceed  with  her  trial.  The 
poor  woman  had  lost  her  husband,  and  was  left  with  a 
large  family ;  the  eldest  of  which  had  lived  for  a  little  time 
with  the  old  woman,  as  we  have  "before  stated,  and  was 
much  older,  though  not  much  "bigger,  than  Little  Blue 
Hood.  But  this  shrewd  child  was  as  thorough  a  little 
woman  at  going  to  market  and  driving  a  hard  bargain,  as 
her  clean,  industrious  little  mother,  who  went  out  charing 
and  washing,  and  left  the  house  and  the  children  to  the 
care  of  this  experienced  and  old-fashioned  little  girl. 

"Peggy,"  said  the  old  woman  to  the  little  widow  when 
she  took  the  apartment,  ' '  we  always  did  agree  together, 
and  I  hope  we  always  shall ;  you  knew  me  in  better  days, 
and  were  always  a  good  and  faithful  servant. '  I  am  not 
what  I  was.  I  have  reason  for  keeping  my  own  secret, 
and  know  how  sinful  it  is  to  tell  a  falsehood.  Ask  me  no 
questions  about  this  dear  child ;  you  shall  know  all  some 
day.  And  do  not  question  her  yourself." 

The  little  widow,  who  was  truth  itself,  promised  her 
old  mistress  that  she  would  neither  question  her,  nor  the 
child,  and  so  it  was  settled,  and  they  entered  their  apart- 
ment in  one  of  the  noisiest  but  cleanest  courts  of  the  old 
Borough. . 

Although  the  old  woman  never  undeceived  the  child  by 
telling  her  that  she  was  not  her  grandmother,  she  told  her 
that  she  was  poor,  and  did  not  conceal  that  her  dancing 


76  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

had  produced  a  deal  of  money  ;  "but  that  in  future,  she 
did  not  intend  to  endeavor  to  obtain  a  livelihood  by  such 
means,  but  to  go  about  selling  tilings,  which  would  be  a 
more  reputable  pursuit,  and  afford  profit  enough  to  sup- 
port them. 

"  Oh,  we  will  sell  flowers,  grandmother,"  said  Little 
Blue  Hood  ;  "  I  should  so  like  that ;  then  I  shall  be  a  lit- 
tle flower-girl,  and  all  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  will  buy 
my  pretty  flowers." 

"  But  there  are  no  flowers  in  winter  that  we  could  afford 
to  buy,  and  sell  cheap,"  replied  the  old  woman;  "in 
spring  and  summer  they  will  be  plentiful.  There  are 
other  things  that  we  can  go  around  with,  that  please  chil- 
dren, and  have  a  ready  sale,  such  as  dolls,  shell  baskets, 
little  purses,  and  pretty  boxes,  pincushions,  and  toys, 
such  as  children  are  always  breaking,  and  their  mothers 
replacing.  They  will  be  light  to  carry,  and  every  shilling 
we  take  will  leave  sixpence  profit.  Though  a  poor,  we 
shall  get  an  honest  living  ;  and  I  do  not  care  what  I  do  to 
see  you  happy,  and  keep  us  together." 

With  all  her  cunning,  the  old  woman  could  not  get  Lit- 
tle Blue  Hood  to  promise  that,  if  she  saw  her  mother,  she 
would  not  go  to  her.  With  that  exception,  the  child  said 
she  would  not  attempt  to  escape  from  her ;  and  in  her  own 
mind  she  felt  certain  that,  if  she  chanced  to  meet  with  her 
mother,  she  would  take  them  both  home,  and  that  the  old 
woman  would  live  in  the  apartments  which  were  always 
called  grandmother's  ;  for  it  was  true  enough  that  her 
father's  mother  was  living  abroad  in  a  warm  climate  for 
the  benefit  of  her  health.  Little  Blue  Hood  believed  that 
the  old  woman  was  the  same  grandmother  who  went  away 
when  she  herself  was  but  a  little  baby,  and  had  no  remem- 


THE  STKEET-HAWKEKS.  77 

Ibrance  of  her  ;  and  that  through  some  unkindness  of  her 
father's,  she  objected  to  return. 

With  all  her  love  for  the  child,  the  old  woman  felt  that 
she  could  not  restore  her  ;  that  were  she  to  leave  her,  her 
life  would  be  miserable  ;  so  she  determined  to  restrict 
their  rounds  to  such  neighborhoods  as  her  mother  was 
never  likely  to  visit,  and  that  was  one  reason  why  she 
stocked  her  basket  with  such  homely  wares. 

Among  the  many  lessons  impressed  on  the  mind  of 
Little  Blue  Hood,  by  her  fond  and  pious  mother,  not  one 
was  more  duly  enforced  than  that  of  being  kind  to,  and 
respecting  the  poor.  She  was  shown  that  all  labor,  how- 
ever humble  the  calling,  was  respectable  ;  that  nothing 
was  more  disgraceful  than  idleness,  which  was  the  root 
of  many  evils,  and  that  those  poor  little  girls  and  boys, 
who  toiled  and  wearied  themselves  in  the  streets  in  their 
endeavors  to  obtain  an  honest  livelihood,  did  more  good 
in  the  world  than  many  who  were  heirs  of  wealth,  and 
who  never  either  toiled  or  spun ;  but  that  those  poor 
children,  by  their  exertions,  supplied  things  that  others 
wanted,  and,  by  such  means,  provided  for  wants  of  their 
own. 

These  lessons  were  never  forgotten  by  that  dutiful  and 
intelligent  child,  and  they  helped  to  root  out  every  feeling 
of  improper  pride  from  her  heart :  for  there  is  a  pride — 
that  of  excelling  in  doing  well — which  is  not  improper, 
and  which  never  ought  to  be  destroyed,  though  narrow- 
minded  people  persist  in  calling  it  ambition.  Such  a  pride 
increases  instead  of  lessening  our  respect  towards  the  pos- 
sessor ;  if  applause  only  is  not  sought  to  be  won  by  it ;  for 
then  it  verges  into  vanity. 

Little  Blue  Hood  was  too  young  and  simple  and  inno- 


78  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

cent,  to  know  what  is  meant  by  filling  a  high  station  in 
life,  and  having  "been  taught  that  there  was  no  disgrace  in 
honest  labor,  she  sallied  out  with  her  little  basket  of  cheap 
ware  on  her  arm,  and  felt  as  proud  of  it  as  if  she  had  been 
going  to  scatter  flowers  in  the  pathway  of  a  queen. 

Beside  her  walked  the  old  woman — who  now  stooped 
in  her  gait — with  one  hand  resting  on  the  child's  shoulder, 
and  had  they  caught  a  poet' s  eye,  he  would  have  likened 
Little  Blue  Hood  to  Spring  leading  along  aged  Winter. 
She  timed  her  light  elastic  step  to  the  slow  pace  of  the 
now  feeble  old  woman,  as  they  moved  slowly  from  street 
to  street,  only  offering  their  ware  to  such  as  stopped  them, 
and  inquired  the  price  of  the  articles  they  wanted  to  pur- 
chase. 

It  was  a  life  that  suited  Trot  to  a  T ;  he  had  again  the 
run  of  the  streets,  could  fight  any  dog  he  had  a  mind  to 
pick  a  quarrel  with,  and,  if  he  were  likely  to  have  the 
worst  of  it,  run  to  his  pretty  mistress  for  safety,  who  was 
sure  to  take  him  up  and  carry  him,  until  he  was  out  of 
danger.  Then,  he  passed  such  a  lot  of  butchers'  shops 
during  the  day,  and  as  the  doors  were  always  open,  it  was 
as  easy  to  run  in  and  out  again,  as  it  was  to  gallop  along 
the  streets  ;  and  if  there  happened  to  be  any  thing  handy 
that  took  his  fancy,  he  was  sure  to  have  it. 

How  an  old  woman  stared  one  day,  as  she  dropped  her 
mutton  chop,  while  feeling  for  the  halfpence  to  pay  for  it. 
She  thought  there  must  have  been  a  hole  somewhere  in 
the  shop-floor,  and  began  feeling  about  among  the  saw- 
dust to  find  it ;  while  Trot,  making  but  one  mouthful  of 
it,  had,  after  a  few  shakes  of  his  head  to  help  it  down, 
swallowed  it  bone  and  all. 

One  day,  a  Punch-and- Judy-man,  who  was  toiling  alone. 


THE  STEEET-HAWKEKS.  79 

carrying  his  tall  cumbrous  show  on  his  back,  looked  hard 
at  Trot,  and  pointing  him  out  to  his  companion,  said,  "If 
he  wasn't  all  black,  I  could  take  my  'happy  David,'  that 
that  ere  dog  was  our  old  Bob,  wot  we  lost  one  day  at  the 
West-end." 

Trot  knew  his  old  master  well  enough,  and  had  not  for- 
gotten the  many  beatings  he  received  from  his  hands  when 
he  was  first  made  to  dance,  so  set  off  home  as  fast  as  his 
legs  would  carry  him  ;  as  he  often  did  when  he  was  pur- 
sued for  thieving,  or  had  stolen  any  thing  that  was  too  big 
to  be  eaten  at  one  meal  in  the  street,  such  as  a  bullock' s 
heart,  or  the  piece  of  round  of  beef  they  were  cutting 
cheap  steaks  off  from  the  block.  More  than  once  Little 
Blue  Hood  had  to  pay  for  his  robberies. 

What  numbers  of  poor  people  bought  the  cheap  articles 
Little  Blue  Hood  sold,  only  because  she  was  so  pretty  and 
gentle,  and  had  such  a  low  sweet  voice,  and  was  so  kind  to 
the  old  woman  she  led  about ;  getting  her  to  sit  down  when 
she  was  tired,  and  taking  such  care  of  her.  And  the  old 
woman  was  never  weary  of  talking  of  her  kindness,  and 
telling  the  people  how  good  she  was  ;  until  poor  mothers 
pointed  her  out  to  their  children,  whenever  she  passed,  as 
an  example  to  be  followed. 

Then  they  began  to  ask  her  for  things  that  she  had  not 
got  at  first,  such  as  cotton  and  thread,  pins  and  needles, 
tapes,  buttons,  and  such  like  articles,  as  the  very  poor  are 
ever  needing  ;  and  these  the  old  woman  soon  procured ; 
and,  by  the  time  winter  was  over,  and  there  was  a  cry 
of  "Come,  buy  my  pretty  primroses,"  in  the  streets  of 
the  mouldy  old  Borough,  Little  Blue  Hood  had  got 
quite  a  connection  around  the  neighborhood,  and  had 
only  to  call  on  her  regular  customers  as  she'  went  her 


80  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

rounds  ;  doing  her  business,  though  on  a  very  small  scale, 
on  the  same  principle  as  many  of  the  largest  commercial 
houses,  who  send  out  their  daily  travellers,  to  receive 
orders  and  deliver  goods.  The  profit  was  cent,  per  cent, 
on  many  of  these  trifling  articles,  and  poor  as  many  of  her 
customers  were,  they  would  say,  "God  bless  the  pretty 
child  !  never  mind  the  farthing  change." 

In  fact,  Little  Blue  Hood  and  the  old  woman  did,  in 
their  way,  what  is  called  "  a  roaring  trade." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE   LITTLE   COURT. 

T  IKE  a  sudden  burst  of  sweet  sunshine  in  a  sad  and 
Jj  shady  place,  such  a  light  did  the  presence  of  Little  Blue 
Hood  shed  on  that  narrow  and  high- walled  court  in  the 
Borough.  Those,  whose  nature  was  as  coarse  as  their 
clothes,  always  spoke  kindly  to  her,  or  smiled  and  nod- 
ded whenever  she  passed  their  doors.  There  was  not  a 
dirty  or  ragged  child  in  the  place,  but  what  was  ready  to 
run  as  far  as  its  little  bare  feet  would  carry  it  to  serve  her. 
If  only  her  shoes  were  soiled,  they  were  ready  to  fight  for 
the  privilege  of  kneeling  down,  and  rubbing  oif  the  dirt 
with  their  tattered  jacket  cuffs.  They  would  wait  about 
the  entrance  of  the  court  to  be  allowed  to  carry  her 
basket  a  little  way  for  her  when  she  set  out  of  a  morning, 
and  watch  at  the  corners  of  all  the  streets  in  the  neigh- 


THE  LITTLE  COTJKT.  81 

borhood  for  her  return  in  the  evening :  and  right  proud 
was  the  little  fellow  who  happened  to  hit  on  the  right 
street,  when  he  came  bearing  her  basket  in  triumph  up 
the  court.  Let  them  but  see  her  and  the  old  woman  wait- 
ing to  cross  the  road,  and  at  the  risk  of  their  lives,  they 
would  dash  over  amongst  the  horses  and  hurrying  ve- 
hicles, one  carrying  Trot,  who  was  on  friendly  terms  with 
them  all ;  another,  the  basket ;  while  a  third  and  fourth 
led  the  child  and  old  woman  safely  and  gently  across. 
They  would  fight  to  pump  for  her,  and  never  think  they 
had  washed  out  the  jug  often  enough,  if  they  knew  the 
water  was  wanted  for  Little  Blue  Hood. 

The  little  widow's  noisy  and  uproarious  children  were 
like  lambs  under  the  eye  of  Little  Blue  Hood.  Jack 
would  wash  his  dirty  face  and  hands  at  her  bidding,  if  she 
would  promise  to  comb  his  hair  afterwards,  while,  had 
his  mother  commanded  him,  he  would  very  likely  have 
said,  "I  shan't  for  you;"  then  he  would  have  got  his 
jacket  dusted  with  a  cane,  and  roared  again  until  he  raised 
the  whole  court. 

There  was  something  so  gentle  in  her  voice,  and  so  win- 
ning in  her  sweet  face,  that  only  to  look  at  her  made  all 
the  children  love  her.  If  they  were  making  use  of  naugh- 
ty language,  and  only  saw  her,  their  lips  were  sealed  in  a 
moment ;  and  nothing  delighted  them  so  much  as  to  get 
her  seated  on  a  stool,  while  they  sat  round  her  on  the  flag- 
ged pavement  of  the  court,  in  the  mild  spring  evenings, 
and  joined  their  voices  in  the  pretty  songs  and  hymns  she 
taught  them  to  sing  ;  or  read  to  them  some  amusing  story, 
which  the  old  woman  had  bought  for  her. 

Then  she  would  invent  some  new  game,  in  which  Trot 
could  join ;  and,  what  with  the  barking  of  the  dog,  the 


82  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

laughing,  shouting,  clapping  of  hands,  and  pattering  of 
little  feet,  as  they  tried  to  catch  her  and  Trot,  that  court 
was  the  merriest,  happiest,  noisiest  little  place  to  "be  found 
in  the  whole  Borough.  Sometimes  she  would  bring  out 
her  tambourine,  and  make  Trot  dance  with  her  for  their 
amusement. 

"Bless  her  dear  heart,"  said  Peggy,  speaking  to  a 
neighbor,  as  she  was  going  out  to  a  hard  day' s  washing,  in 
a  damp,  dark,  underground  kitchen,  which  was  worse 
than  the  thickest  November  fog,  when  filled  with  the  steam 
from  the  copper;  "I'm  sure  mine  are  hardly  like  the 
same  children  since  she  came  to  live  with  us.  The  lads 
never  swear  now,  nor  threaten  to  knock  their  sisters' 
heads  off ;  but  kneel  down,  and  say  their  '  Our  Father'  to 
her  of  a  night,  and  their  '  Grace  before  Meat ;'  and  they 
don't  get  the  treacle-pot,  and  rub  one  another's  faces  with 
it ;  nor  mix  the  salt  with  the  sugar,  to  make  a  pudding  ; 
nor  clean  the  window  with  the  candle-end,  then  rub  it  on 
the  looking-glass ;  nor  catch  flies,  and  put  them  into  little 
Sally' s  mouth,  as  they  used  to  ;  nor  swim  my  shoes  in  the 
wash-tub  ;  nor  put  the  ashes  in  the  tea-kettle.  I  never  saw 
such  a  change  in  my  born  days,  as  there  is  in  'em.  Then 
she  makes  them  as  clean  as  new  pins,  and  takes  them  to 
church  with  her  on  a  Sunday  ;  and  they  seem  so  pleased 
when  she  comes  back,  and  tell  me  how  good  they  all 
i  was,'  that  I  can't  help  sitting  down  sometimes  and  having 
a  good  cry  to  myself,  when  I  think  that  such  a  dear  little 
thing,  as  she  is,  should  make  us  all  so  happy." 

Sometimes  Little  Blue  Hood  went  out  with  the  eldest 
daughter  a  marketing,  and  saw  how  she  bantered  the 
butcher  down,  as  she  bargained  for  a  lot  of  trimmings, 
which  had  been  cut  off  to  make  the  joints  look  fresh  and 


THE  LITTLE  COURT.  83 

neat ;  also  offering  a  penny  for  a  rasher  of  "bacon  they 
asked  three  halfpence  for,  peeping  at  the  scales  to  see  that 
the  grocer  gave  her  good  weight,  and  seizing  upon  the 
largest  herring  in  a  moment,  if  they  were  all  one  price. 
And  this  little  woman-in-mind,  knew  where  the  cheapest 
and  best  bread  was  sold,  and  where  she  could  get  three 
pounds  of  potatoes  for  a  halfpenny  less  than  at  any  other 
shop  ;  and  sometimes  she  brought  home  a  penny  cabbage, 
so  big,  that  the  largest  saucepan  they  had  only  held  half 
of  it.  And  the  butcher  boys  with  their  greasy  hair,  the 
fishmonger  boys  with  their  sticky  hands,  and  the  coal- 
shed  boys  with  their  grimy  faces,  were  all  eager  to  carry 
these  cheap  bargains  home  when  Little  Blue  Hood  accom- 
panied Peggy' s  daughter ;  for  they  liked  to  walk  beside 
her,  and  hear  her  talk  to  them,  and  said  among  them- 
selves, "  She's  a  real  good-un,  and  no  mistake."  Let  any 
strange  boy  offer  her  the  slightest  insult,  and  every  little 
jacket  in  the  neighborhood  was  off,  and  little  dirty  fists 
knuckled  up  to  "give  him  pepper." 

And  Little  Blue  Hood  would  listen  attentively  while 
Peggy  told  her  all  she  had  to  do  in  the  house,  while  her 
mother  went  out  to  work,  and  what  trouble  she  used  to 
have  to  get  the  children  to  bed  when  she  was  late,  until 
Edith  came  to  live  with  them.  How  baby — as  the  young- 
est was  always  called — cried  when  she  washed  her  ;  and 
how,  when  she  gave  Jacky  the  poker  to  knock  it  on  the 
floor  while  he  nursed  baby  while  she  cleaned  up  the 
hearth,  he  sometimes  hit  it  in  the  face  with  the  poker-nob 
and  so  made  baby  cry  worse.  How  Sally  got  all  her 
dusters  to  make  dolls  of ;  and  Billy  was  fond  of  getting  to 
the  potatoes,  and  cutting  them  into  the  shapes  of  boats  and 
little  carts. 


84  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

"I'm  sure  they  used  to  nearly  drive  me  mad  at  times 
before  you  came,"  said  little  Peggy,  using  the  very  words 
she  had  heard  her  mother  utter  on  such  occasions. 

Let  her  industrious  mother  come  home  at  what  hour 
she  might,  she  never  went  to  bed,  until  she  had  what  she 
called  "given  the  things  a  good  rummaging,  so  as  to  make 
room  for  more  dirt ;"  and  as  Little  Blue  Hood  lay  in  bed, 
she  could  hear  her  going  to  the  tap  and  rattling  the  heavy 
pail  about;  and  when  she  got  up  in  the  morning,  she 
found  the  house  as  clean  as  if  there  had  never  been  any 
children  in  it  to  make  the  least  dirt.  Little  Peggy  took 
after  her  mother  for  cleanliness,  and  was  sousing  her 
brothers  and  sisters  all  day  long,  rubbing  the  soap-suds 
into  their  eyes  until  they  cried,  then  giving  them  sugar, 
to  keep  them  quiet,  while  she  dried  their  well-scrubbed 
faces. 

It  amused  Little  Blue  Hood,  morning  and  evening,  to 
see  that  woman-like  child  manage  her  mother' s  household, 
when  she  returned,  after  going  her  daily  rounds.  And 
many  a  little  sock  did  that  pretty  child  help  to  darn,  and 
many  a  patch  did  she  put  on  frock  or  pinafore,  which 
young  Peggy  could  not  find  time  to  mend;  and  in  her 
after  days,  Little  Blue  Hood  never  regretted  the  lessons 
she  had  learned,  while  living  amongst  the  poor  in  that 
little  court  in  the  Borough. 


THE  EAST  WIND.  85 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE    EAST  WIND. 

T71VERY  day  saw  the  old  woman  grow  weaker,  and 
_LJ  stoop  lower,  and  bear  heavier  on  her  stick  and  the 
shoulder  of  Little  Blue  Hood,  as  she  went  out  with  her ; 
her  feet  creeping  along  the  ground,  for  she  could  no 
longer  lift  them  up,  as  she  had  done  beforetime. 

The  storm  of  wind  and  rain  that  drove  her  for  shelter 
into  the  hovel,  had  left  behind  a  cold  that  had  penetrated 
her  old  bones,  and  made  her  feel  every  change  of  the 
weather  ;  nor  had  she  ever  got  rid  of  the  cough,  which 
shook  her  at  times  like  a  galvanic  battery. 

At  last,  a  bitter  east  wind  set  in,  and  the  rheumatism 
seized  upon  her  tottering  limbs,  and  she  was  wholly  un- 
able to  move  about  at  all.  Then  the  old  woman  knew 
that  her  days  were  drawing  to  a  close,  and  that  the 
evening  shadows  would  soon  darken  around  her,  and 
she  should  never  again  see  the  light  of  the  sun,  "no 
more  forever." 

The  child  tried  to  persuade  her  to  leave  the  Borough, 
and  go  to  Nanny' s  pretty  cottage,  where  there  was  plenty 
of  fresh  air,  and  she  would  be  very  quiet ;  but  the  old 
woman  said,  "No;  I  should  like  to  die  here,  and  be  car- 
ried to  my  last  resting-place  over  the  stones  which  my 
old  feet  have  helped  to  wear  hollow,  in  my  long  and 
weary  pilgrimage.  And  if  I  get  no  better,  which  I  don't 
believe  I  ever  shall  any  more  in  this  world,  you  can  bring 
that  good  clergyman  who  noticed  you  in  the  church,  and 


86  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

took  yon  and  Peggy's  children  into  the  vestry,  where  he 
was  so  kind  to  them — you  can  bring  him  to  pray  beside 
me,  if  he  will  be  good  enough  to  come  to  the  bedside  of 
such  a  sinner  as  I  am.  For  there  are  things  that  weigh 
heavily  on  my  mind,  that  I  could  never  frame  my  speech 
to  tell  rightly  to  anybody  but  one  of  God' s  good  servants, 
and  to  the  Almighty  Himself,  when  I  pray  to  Him  to 
forgive  me  my  sins :  for  I  feel,  my  darling,  that  He  has 
sent  the  Angel  of  Death  to  me  in  this  east  wind,  and 
that  I  shall  never  leave  this  house  any  more,  until  I  am 
carried  across  the  threshold.  I  know  you  have  forgiven 
me  for  all  I  have  done  amiss,  and  for  deceiving  you,  and 
telling  you  that  I  was  your  grandmother ;  and  God  will 
be  as  good  to  me  as  you  have  been  ;  for  you  first  turned 
me  from  the  evil  of  my  ways,  through  His  grace." 

The  east  wind  would  have  passed  over  her  harmless 
enough,  had  she  never  stolen  Little  Blue  Hood,  and  ex- 
posed herself  so  much  to  the  elements,  which,  instead  of 
injuring,  had  strengthened  and  hardened  the  child  ;  while 
storm  and  rain,  and  cold  and  long  wearisome  journeys, 
had  filled  the  hollows  of  her  old  bones  with  aches  and 
pains,  which  Death  only  could  put  an  end  to. 

Again  Little  Blue  Hood  nursed  her,  read  to  her,  and 
in  her  pretty  way  knelt  with  folded  hands  by  her  bedside, 
and  prayed  for  her ;  while  Trot  kept  watch  on  a  morsel 
of  carpet  at  the  foot  of  the  bed,  and  never  left  the  room 
unless  it  was  to  follow  his  pretty  mistress,  and  then  he 
stole  in  and  out  noiselessly.  Sometimes  he  would  rear 
up  beside  the  bed,  and  holding  his  head  on  one  side,  look 
at  her  as  if  he  could  have  said  a  good  deal,  had  he  been 
so  minded.  Then  he  would  return  to  his  resting-place, 
coil  himself  up,  and  lie  as  still  as  a  sleeping  mouse.  He 


THE  EAST  WIND.  87 

never    once   danced   all  the   time   the   old  woman   lay 
dying. 

She  would  not  have  a  doctor  sent  for  ;  for,  she  said  to 
her  landlady,  "It's  very  kind  of  you,  Peggy,  and  you 
always  were  kind  ;  but  a  doctor  is  of  no  use  now,  for  I 
know  that  my  end  is  near.  I  require  no  one  but  our  dar- 
ling to  be  near  me ;  for,  when  I  have  hold  of  her  dear 
hand,  I  seem  at  times  as  if  she  were  leading  me  into  hea- 
ven ;  and  when  I  sleep,  I  have  heard  her  in  my  dreams 
pleading  with  the  angels  at  the  gates  to  let  me  in,  and  I 
feel  assured  that  they  will  open  their  golden  doors  for 
me,  for  her  sake,  and  listen  to  her  prayers." 

She  could  not  rest  if  Little  Blue  Hood  was  out  of  her 
sight,  and  never  seemed  so  happy  as  when  she  held  the 
hand  of  that  dear  child  within  her  own,  or  pressed  it  to 
her  lips.  She  had  told  her  every  thing,  and  Edith  had 
forgiven  her  with  all  her  heart,  and  solemnly  promised  'to 
remain  with  her,  either  until  she  was  better,  or  the  time 
came  when  "all  tears  should  be  wiped  from  her  eyes, 
and  she  should  never  feel  pain  any  more." 

When  the  old  woman  l&y  on  her  death-bed,  reproach- 
ing herself  for  what  she  had  done,  Little  Blue  Hood  tried 
to  console  her  by  saying,  that  but  for  her,  she  should 
never  have  been  acquainted  with  the  patience  the  poor 
display  under  all  privations  ;  and  that,  above  all,  it  made 
her  happy  to  know  that  she,  a  little  child,  had  been  the 
means,  through  Providence,  of  leading  her  to  the  foot  of 
the  Cross. 

When  the  good  clergyman  came,  the  old  woman  con- 
cealed nothing  from  him:  and  great  was  his  surprise, 
when  he  found  her  passage  to  the  grave  had  been  smooth- 
ed by  the  hand  of  a  little  child,,  and  that  she  was  not 


88  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

afraid  to  die,  such  faith  had  she  in  the  promises  read  to 
her  out  of  the  Holy  Book  by  Little  Blue  Hood.  A  doctor 
was  then  called  in  ;  for  the  clergyman  felt  it  a  solemn  duty 
to  do  all  he  could  to  prolong  the  old  woman' s  life.  But 
the  doctor  held  out  no  hope — he  even  named  the  number 
of  hours  she  might  be  expected  to  live. 

How  Little  Blue  Hood  sorrowed  when  she  was  told  that 
she  must  soon  lose  her;  she  knew  from  her  heart  that 
the  old  woman  loved  her,  as  she  had  never  before  loved 
any  human  soul.  She  knew  that  if  parting  with  her 
heart's  blood,  drop  by  drop,  would  undo  the  past,  and 
make  up  for  those  tears  she  had  caused  her  to  shed,  the 
old  woman  would  have  yielded  her  life  slowly  and  pain- 
fully, however  much  such  suffering  might  have  been  pro- 
longed. 

She  admitted  to  the  clergyman  how  wrongfully  she  had 
acted  in  stealing  the  child,  but  could  not  be  brought  to 
confess  that  she  was  sorry  for  having  done  so  ;  "  for  that," 
said  she,  "  would  be  saying  I  was  sorry  I  ever  knew  her, 
when  she  brought  to  me  more  true  happiness  than  it  was 
ever  my  lot  to  enjoy  before." 

In  this  belief  she  died,  avowing  "that  the  finger  of 
Heaven  guided  her  in  what  she  did,  and  that  she  had 
such  faith  in  the  prayers  and  forgiveness  of  the  child, 
in  her  own  sincere  repentance,  in  the  intercession  of  Our 
Saviour,  and  the  unbounded  mercy  of  God,  that  she  had 
no  more  fear  of  Death  than  she  had  of  falling  asleep,  with 
the  hand  of  Little  Blue  Hood  clasped  between  her  own." 

The  clergyman  was  not  a  person  to  throw  a  gloomy 
shadow  over  her  pathway  to  the  grave,  after  the  child  had 
brightened  it  with  the  light  of  eternal  Hope. 

They  are  no  true  Christians  who  would  willingly  em- 


THE  EAST  WIND.  89 

"bitter  the  last  moments  of  the  dying,  by  holding  out 
threats  of  the  doom  that  lies  beyond  the  grave,  where  He 
only  sits  as  Judge,  who  knoweth  the  secrets  of  all  hearts, 
and  seeth  in  human  motives,  it  may  be,  something  re- 
deeming, which  we,  in  our  blindness,  were  never  permit- 
ted to  behold. 

When  the  clergyman  proposed  that  the  parents  of  the 
child  should  be  sent  for,  and  Little  Blue  Hood  assured 
the  dying  woman  that  she  knew,  through  her  interceding, 
they  would  forgive  her,  she  shook  her  head,  and  said, 
"No;  to  see  the  lady  I  have  caused  so  much  sorrow, 
would  be  more  than  I  could  endure.  I  hope  to  meet  her 
and  my  darling  in  heaven,  and  when  there  my  transgres- 
sions will  be  blotted  out,  and  my  sins  be  remembered  no 
more." 

It  was  the  last  night,  and  Little  Blue  Hood  and  the  old 
woman  were  alone ;  she  lay,  as  usual,  very  quiet,  hold- 
ing the  child' s  hand  ;  at  length  she  said,  in  a  voice  that 
was  audible  enough  to  Edith' s  attentive  ear,  though,  had 
another  person  been  in  the  room,  not  a  word  she  uttered 
would  have  been  heard,  for  the  child,  through  long  watch- 
ing, understood  her  if  she  only  moved  her  lips :  "I  have 
a  last  request  to  make  of  you,  my  darling,  and  I  know 
you  will  grant  it.  For  it  is  what  you  yourself  can  do, 
and  it  will  make  me  very  happy." 

The  child  promised  to  do  what  she  wanted.  "  You  will 
find  a  parcel  at  the  back  of  the  top  drawer,  with  your 
name  written  on  it,"  continued  the  old  woman,  speak- 
ing with  difficulty ;  "get  it  out  and  undo  it." 

The  child  obeyed,  and  found  the  parcel  contained  the 
clothes  she  wore  on  the  day  she  was  stolen,  and  on  the 
top  of  which  was  neatly  folded  her  little  blue  hood. 


90  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

"I  want  to  be  buried  in  your  little  blue  hood,"  said 
the  old  woman,  "if  you  will  let  me;  and  I  feel  as  if  I 
could  die  easier,  if  I  had  it  on  my  head.  Gret  the  scissors 
and  let  out  the  plaits ;  it  will  then  fit  me,  as  the  gather- 
ings above  the  cape  are  large  and  loose." 

The  little  girl  let  out  the  hood,  drawing  out  the  blue 
ribbons,  which  made  a  little  cloak  of  it,  when  she  was 
in  the  habit  of  letting  it  fall  over  her  pretty  shoulder.  In 
her  nimble  fingers  it  was  but  the  labor  of  a  few  minutes. 
The  old  woman  thanked  her,  and  kissed  her. 

"Now,  darling,  call  Peggy  up,  and  get  her  to  raise  my 
head,  while  you  put  it  on ;  then  I  shall  be  at  rest." 

The  little  widow  was  soon  in  the  room,  and  raised  the 
old  woman's  head  as  tenderly  as  she  would  have  shifted 
an  infant' s  on  its  pillow  ;  while  Edith  put  on  the  little 
blue  hood,  and  tied  it  loosely  under  her  chin. 

"Now,  promise,"  she  said,  taking  Peggy's  hand, 
"that  it  shall  not  be  taken  off  when  they  come  to  lay  me 
out." 

The  little  widow  burst  into  tears,  and  promised  that  no 
hand  should  touch  her,  saving  her  own  and  Little  Blue 
Hood's,  after  she  was  dead. 

"  You  will  find  more  than  enough  to  bury  me,"  said 
the  old  woman,  "in  the  green  purse  in  the  drawer,  and 
it  is  my  wish,  and  that  of  my  darling — whom  I  shall  soon 
part  with  for  a  little  while — that  you  keep  what  remains 
for  your  kind  attention  to  me.  And  now  kiss  me ;  for 
I  am  tired  and  sleepy." 

They  both  kissed  her;  and  she  fell  asleep,  never  to 
awaken  any  more  on  this  side  the  grave. 


HOME.  91 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

HOME. 

good  clergyman  had  visited  the  old  woman  num- 
bers  of  times  during  her  illness,  and  it  is  from  the 
notes  that  he  kindly  supplied  that  we  have  compiled 
this  work.  They  were  partly  taken  down  in  pencil  by 
her  bedside,  from  the  old  woman' s  lips  ;  and  partly  writ- 
ten after  he  returned  from  visiting  her,  while  the  conver- 
sation they  had  together  was  fresh  in  his  memory.  The 
author  regrets  that  the  modesty  of  this  really  reverend 
gentleman  is  too  great  to  even  allow  of  his  name  appear- 
ing in  connection  with  it.  His  object  in  taking  such 
copious  notes  was,  not  only  to  apprise  the  parents  of  Lit- 
tle Blue  Hood  of  all  that  had  befallen  the  child  from  the 
day  she  was  lost,  but  also  to  prepare  them  for  her  return 
home,  after  the  old  woman  was  buried.  He  said  that  the 
child  expressed  a  strong  wish  not  to  see  her  parents  until 
the  grave  had  closed  over  the  remains  of  the  old  woman, 
whom  they  could  only  look  upon  as  an  enemy,  while  she 
mourned  her  loss  as  a  friend.  Every  day  he  sent  by  post 
a  portion  of  the  history  of  the  Adventures  of  Little  Blue 
Hood,  so  that,  as  he  said,  "When  the  happy  hour  of 
your  meeting  comes,  she  will  have  no  tale  to  tell." 

The  worthy  clergyman  had  received  instructions  from 
the  parents  of  Little  Blue  Hood  to  become  her  banker ; 
and  the  first  use  she  made  of  the  funds  he  supplied  her 
with,  was  to  purchase  mourning  for  Peggy  and  all  her 
children,  whom  she  wished  to  attend  the  funeral.  It  was 
soon  known  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  old 


92  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

Borough,  that  the  pretty  little  street-hawker,  they  had  all 
so  much  admired,  was  the  daughter  of  a  titled  lady ;  and 
many  a  prophet  rose  up  with  a  "  I  always  said  she  was," 
and  those  who  said  so  saw  their  prophecies  fulfilled. 

Through  the  interest  of  the  worthy  clergyman,  and  at 
the  intercession  of  Little  Blue  Hood,  the  old  woman  was 
buried  close  to  the  foundation  of  St.  Saviour' s  Church. 
He  had  taken  the  child  out  one  day,  to  get  a  mouthful  of 
fresh  air,  as  he  called  it,  beside  the  river,  for  she  was  pale 
and  feverish  through  long  confinement,  and  attending  so 
closely  on  the  poor  old  woman  ;  and  he  then  told  her  that 
Shakspeare  and  Johnson  had  been  mourners  in  that  old 
churchyard ;  also  naming  many  of  the  great  poets  who 
were  buried  there.  Then  it  was  that  Little  Blue  Hood 
expressed  a  wish  for  the  old  woman  to  be  buried  there  ; 
she  hardly  knew  why  she  had  such  a  wish,  though  it  may 
be  that  she  thought  her  own  adventures  might  some  day 
be  numbered  "among  the  tales  that  are  told." 

Such  a  funeral  procession  had  not  been  seen  in  the  old 
Borough  for  years,  but  it  was  to  honor  the  living,  and  not 
to  pay  respect  to  the  dead,  that  caused  such  a  great  mus- 
tering. All  who  had  been  customers  to  Little  Blue  Hood, 
though  it  had  only  been  for  a  farthing' s- worth  of  pins,  a 
halfpenny  reel  of  cotton,  or  a  row  of  pearl  buttons,  were 
followers  at  that  great  funeral ;  where  she,  in  all  her 
childish  beauty,  was  chief  mourner ;  and,  instead  of  a 
blue,  on  that  occasion  wore  a  sable  hood,  her  sweet  face 
shining  in  it  like  a  star  from  out  of  the  surrounding  dark- 
ness. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  old  woman  that  she  should  be 
borne  to  the  grave  on  the  shoulders  of  those  she  had 
known,  in  what  she  used  to  call  "her  better  days;" 


HOME.  93 

though,  as  she  afterwards  said  to  Peggy  :  "  The  "best  days 
of  my  ill-spent  life  have  been  my  last,  which  the  presence 
of  our  little  angel  has  brightened." 

The  little  widow  had  no  difficulty  in  finding  bearers,  to 
carry  her  old  mistress  to  the  grave,  who  had  known  her 
in  former  years.  They  were  all  old  and  poor,  and  were 
richly  rewarded  for  their  attendance  through  the  hand  of 
the  good  clergyman,  who  acted  as  almoner  to  Little  Blue 
Hood. 

"Earth  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes,  dust  to  dust;  in  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  the  Resurrection  to  eternal  life, 
through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

The  last  solemn  words  are  uttered,  the  earth  has  fallen 
with  a  strange,  solemn,  hollow  sound  on  the  coffin-lid,  and 
she,  that  child  mourner,  stands  motionless,  looking  down 
into  the  narrow  bed,  while  her  tears  fall  like  rain  on  those 
remains,  that  will  never  know  pain  or  sorrow  any  more. 

When  Little  Blue  Hood  raised  her  eyes,  red  with  weep- 
ing, they  met  those  of  her  mother,  who  was  standing  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  grave — the  grave  of  her  who  had  so 
long  divided  them.  A  narrow  plank  had  been  left  across 
the  grave,  after  the  coffin  was  lowered,  and  over  this  the 
child  passed,  to  be  folded  in  the  embrace  of  her  mother, 
who  clasped  her  in  speechless  ecstasy,  as  she  dropped  on 
one  knee,  and  held  her  to  her  beating  heart,  while  her 
eyes  were  raised  heavenward,  and  her  lips  stirred  as  if  in 
prayer. 

Had  she  passed  triumphant  over  the  grave  of  her  enemy, 
or  of  her  friend  ? 

Trot  was  the  first  to  discover  the  mother  of  his  little 
mistress,  and  had  gone  to  her  during  the  reading  of  the 
solemn  Burial  Service. 


94  LITTLE  BLUE  HOOD. 

After  the  lady  had  recognized  and  patted  him — for  she 
knew  how  his  complexion  had  "been  changed,  as  well  as 
her  dear  daughter' s,  through  the  long  letter  the  good  cler- 
gyman had  written  to  her — he  squatted  down  on  the  edge 
of  the  grave,  and  looked  more  sedate  and  full  of  thought 
than  many  of  those  who  were  there  assembled. 

The  carriage  was  in  waiting  at  the  foot  of  London 
Bridge,  and  no  sooner  had  the  lady  entered  and  seen  her 
daughter  seated  by  her  side,  than  she  uttered  the  word 
"HOME"  to  the  footman,  as  he  touched  his  hat  to  receive 
her  commands.  That  word  was  passed  to  the  coachman, 
who  had  already  got  Trot  by  his  side  on  the  box  ;  for  he 
had  always  been  one  of  the  dog's  favorites.  Trot  had 
often  been  sentenced  to  ride  with  the  coachman,  whenever 
he  had  misconducted  himself  inside  the  carriage. 

There  are  states  of  feeling  which  no  written  language 
can  ever  describe — which  no  tongue  can  ever  give  utter- 
ance to — such  was  the  state  of  feeling  in  the  heart  of  Little 
Blue  Hood  and  her  mother.  To  look  into  each  other's 
eyes,  to  press  their  lips  together  again,  to  lie  for  a  moment 
or  two  in  each  other' s  embrace,  then  to  draw  their  faces 
apart,  as  if  to  be  sure  that  the  bliss  they  enjoyed  was 
real:  to  utter  only  the  words  "my  darling,"  and  "my 
mother,"  is  only  to  describe  motion  and  sound.  Their  full 
hearts  were  laboring  under  feelings,  which,  in  this  state 
of  existence,  can  never  find  utterance,  and  may  be  re- 
served for  one  of  the  delights  of  heaven  ;  where,  in  their 
beatitude,  the  angels  make  known  their  love  for  one 
another.  Who  can  tell  ? 

Neither  the  heart  of  Little  Blue  Hood,  nor  that  of  her 
mother,  could  find  words  to  express  its  feelings,  as  if  there 
is  a  pleasure  beyond  any  we  can  know  while  here,  and 


HOME.  95 

which  to  partake  of  we  must  first  die,  and  not  until  then 
"be  allowed  to  give  utterance  to  the  full  expression  of 
perfect  love. 

Inquire  among  the  aged  and  the  helpless,  the  poor  and 
the  needy,  where  Sorrow  has  alighted,  and  Misfortune 
found  a  pitiful  home,  and  there  you  will  near  of  a  Minis- 
tering Angel,  who  is  ever  coming  and  going  on  errands  of 
Charity,  and  Loving-kindness,  and  will  be  told  that,  in 
the  days  of  her  girlhood,  she  was  known  by  the  name  of 
Little  Blue  Hood. 


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